Ai Obake
by Glorytommy
Summary: Take's place after the anime. More crazy and strange cases to come!
1. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt1

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; this is my first Ghost Hunt story so bear with me a bit. I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

_She panted heavily as she slid open another door._

_Empty._

_Cursing under her breath she broke into a run yet again, her lungs becoming heavy. 'I have to find him… before it's too late,' was all Mai could think as her surroundings closed in on her. _

_Soon she was in complete darkness; though her body seemed to glow in the dark… she could make out her own features perfectly. She was decked out in a simple kimono that was torn and tattered as if she had been in a swamp or woods of some sort. Her hair was up into a messy bun, branches stuck in her brown strands._

_Despite this, she kept running._

'_I have to find him…. I have to find him…'_

_It felt as if she had been at this for hours, her legs felt as if they would give out at any minute. Soon a door appeared in front of her, she ran faster and reached out a hand desperately trying to make her way to it... This had to be the door, it had to be._

_It felt as if she would never make it there…. It seemed no matter how fast she went the door would tease her by backing up just as far. Her side ached and her chest felt as if it was on fire, but she didn't stop. She couldn't, she HAD to make it there… before it was too late._

_That's when her hand finally touched it. Taking a deep breath she flung the door open with all her might, 'Please let this be it!' _

_That is when she stopped, her eyes widened at the figure on the floor. It was a young man with short jet black hair, his face was pale and lifeless and his once beautiful blue eyes were clouded and blank… he was dead. A pool of __blood__ grew from under him as it oozed from the knife wound on his heart. _

_Mai dropped to her knees, tears running down her face. 'Naru… Sorry… I'm… I'm too late… I couldn't save you….' she thought her body shaking violently as she silently sobbed._

_Suddenly her eyes finally spotted the figure standing over the dead boy. It was a woman with long dark hair, she had a look of elegance and yet her eyes only showed that of hate, sorrow, and most off all jealousy. _

_The woman looked at Naru, then to Mai, and then to the bloody knife in her hand. An evil laugh escaped the woman's mouth as her eye twitched; it would have seemed that she had only just __registered__ what she had done and yet… how could she laugh at such a thing?_

_Stepping over the dead body, she came closer to Mai, tilting her head to the side. Every bone in the girl's body told her to run, but she was frozen stiff. _

"_You did this, you know…. It's all your fault…." The woman said in a foreboding and bitter way. An insane smile crossed her lips as she knelt down in front of Mai, twirling the knife in her hands. _

_The brunette couldn't move… all she could do was sit there and watch as the woman violently grabbed her hair. Forcing her to stare right into those deranged eyes… those mad deranged eyes…_

_What had become of her?_

"_I loved him you know… I loved him so much…" the woman shook her head as she let the blade lightly touch the girl's face. Mai winced. _

"…_but you, you _witch_. You charmed him and took him from me, you…. Because of you…." She became angrier with even word and swiped blade across Mai's face, leaving a shallow cut on the girl's soft skin. A trail of blood ran down her cheek. _

_Mai's tears didn't stop coming, she opened her mouth to speak… but there was a lump in her throat, the words wouldn't come out. The elegant woman clicked her tongue, and stood up dragging Mai by the hair forcing her to get a closer look at the dead man. _

"_You made me do it…. You just wouldn't stay away…you just had to make him fall for you. No matter what I said, his eyes saw only you." she said almost sadly as a frown came to her face. _

_Mai bit her lip, and finally spoke out "I LOVED HIM TOO YOU KNOW!" The brunette felt a sting and she was slapped across the face and set tumbling on her back side. _

"_Not the way I did…. NOT THE WAY I DID!" _

_Mai started to sob, "But Onee-san—" _

"_Shut up! You have no right to call me by that name!" the woman spat, tightening her grip on the knife in her slender fingers. _

_Slamming her hand on the floor near Mai's head held the blade high in an attempt to stab the girl, but once their eyes meet the raven haired lady's hand started to shake… _

_She couldn't do it._

_She couldn't kill her younger sibling, so instead she plunged the knife into her own heart. _

_Mai's eyes widened as blood dripped onto her face, the brunette watched as the woman fell… _

_A bitter smile plastered on her face._

"ONEE-SAN!" Mai screamed as she sat up in bed. She hugged herself trying to settle her shivering body. Slowly calming herself down, she looked around, glad that she was still her bedroom that resided in her small apartment.

Taking a deep breath she pulled her covers back and got up from bed. She winced as her bare feet touched the cold wooden floor. Mai began to absent mindedly make herself some tea. Letting out a tired sigh, she ran a hand through her hair. This wasn't the first time she had that dream… just about any time she fell asleep it would happen and it confused her.

She hadn't told anyone about it either. No… it was probably nothing… she couldn't think of anything it could relate to, plus she didn't want to bother anyone and make them worry. Any time she had a dream they were always worrying…

She had to use both her hands to hold the tea cup steady as she began to drink. She let the cool liquid run down her throat, it slowly calmed her. When she was finished she rinsed out her cup and put it away. Walking back in her room she laid back down….

She couldn't go back to sleep that night.

* * *

**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.1**

12:00pm July 9th

Mai could be found at her desk, head in hands as she stared off at a far off wall. This was her way of trying to focus. You wouldn't believe how hard that task was for her to obtain at the moment. She was extremely tired. The girl hadn't gotten a good night's sleep last night, she had been too afraid to go back to sleep. In fact, she was unsure of the last time she slept peacefully since the dreams started.

The brunette sighed heavily; the silence in the office was not helping in her quest to stay awake. It had been a while since they had taken a case. After all Naru only picked cases that interested him… and it hadn't been too long since he was released from the hospital.

Mai's eyelids started to become heavy, 'Gotta… stay… awake…' she thought to herself not wanting to go through that dream again.

'Mai…. Mai…. Mai…'

"Heh. That's funny…. It almost sounds like Naru's calling my name…" she told herself sleepily.

"Mai!" a voice said firmly.

This made the girl realize that she wasn't imagining things, jumping in her seat she turned to her boss' door. Sure enough, Naru was glaring at her, his body partially sticking out of the door. Sitting up straight she gulped, "Y-Yes?"

"Tea." The seventeen year old boy stated before disappearing back into his office, the door slamming gently behind him.

Mai pouted, "Stupid Narcissist…." She mumbled lowly forgetting about how tired she was for a moment. Standing up she went to go fix the tea-a-holic a drink.

It wasn't long before she heard the whistling of the kettle. Absent mindedly she poured the tea into a small cup, before placing it on a tray. Gathering herself, she walked up to naru's office door tray in hand. Using her free hand she tapped on the door twice and waited.

"It's open." a deep voice stated indifferently.

Opening the office door, Mai made her way to the desk and placed the tea cup in front of Naru. Chilling blue eyes soon met brown. It was silent for a few moments before, the raven haired boy spoke. "How long are you going to stand there like an idiot? Don't you have work to do?"

Mai scoffed, "Geez Naru you could at least say thank you just this once." She mumbled as she turned to leave, unaware of the blue eyes that were still eyeing her figure as she left.

Just as the brunette closed the door, her attention was brought to the front door as a head poked in. It was a woman with long black hair that fell just below her shoulders and red eyes. She seemed a bit timid and had a bit of a baby face, though she couldn't be more than twenty-something. A light and frail smile came to the woman's face when she spotted Mai. "U-um, excuse m-me…. This is Shibuya Psychic Research, c-correct?"

Mai gave the woman a warm smile, "Yep! Can I help you?"

"W-well… I have r-reason to believe my h-house may be… ummm…. Haunted." The woman said a worried look spread across her face.

Mai took the woman by the hand, "Please sit here. I'll get my boss." She stated, guiding the woman to a place on the couch.

* * *

The brunette had taken her place behind Naru, who was sitting across from the nervous woman, who went by the name Anzai, Yuri. Lin had come out of his office and was now at his usual place in front of his laptop.

Closing his eyes, Naru spoke. "Please explain your situation Ms. Anzai."

"R-right." The young woman said with a nod, "You see… it all started after my wedding. My husband and I decided to keep the home that my mother left for me, seeing as I lived in that house all of my life…" she explained shifting in her seat a bit. "I never had a problem with it before, but now… strange things have been happening."

"Strange things… as in?" the boy asked calmly.

Yuri took a shaky breath before she continued, "The first night there were whispers, followed by the sound of running feet. My husband, Hiro got up out of bed and took a look… but he couldn't see anything." The woman swallowed hard. "As the days went on more things started to happen, things were being thrown off of shelves… the doors were slamming on their own…. And then… just the other day I believe I saw something… I was in the living room when the door slammed shut, I ran over to it t-to try and open it but it was locked. That's when the room got cold, it was just so c-c-cold…" her voice started to get even shakier as he story when on. "And that's when I saw…. _her_."

"Her?" Mai questioned, a bit startled by the story.

Yuri nodded, "S-she had long straw like b-b-black hair that fell to her waist and her skin was pale, almost like she hadn't been out in the sun in years. I couldn't see her face, her hair was t-too much in the way… but she had the wickedest smiled in the world. I-It sent shivers down my spine. The woman got closer, I-I was so scared that I let out a scream… Hiro knocked on the door asking if I was alright. When I looked back to where the woman had been… she was gone." Yuri clasped her hand in her lap, "P-Please… please say you'll help me. I-I don't know what t-to do…" the explained holding back her tears.

Mai was soon at the woman's side coaxing her, they both glanced at Naru.

"We'll take the case…" he said after a few moments.

The woman gave a looked relieved. "T-Thank you…. Thank you…."

* * *

**A/N:** I was dying to try and make a fanfic for this show! Tell me what you think!


	2. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt2

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

**Anzai Household: www. 4321. co. il/ property/ photographs1/ z153525948. jpg **_( copy and paste into the address bar, take out the spaces )_

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**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.2**

Mai blinked as the van pulled up to the Anzai household. It was an old-style Japanese home that was kept in wonderful condition. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she stepped out of the vehicle. "Wow! It's amazing!" the brunette stated in awe.

"If you don't close your mouth, you'll eat a bug." Naru stated bluntly as he and Lin made their way to the front door.

"Humph." Despite being insulted she took one more look at the house before catching up to the two.

Monk and the others had not made it yet; they would be a bit late because they somehow managed to get a flat tire on the way. The only one that wouldn't make it was Masako, who had business to take care of.

When they made it to the front door, Naru knocked. There was a few seconds of silence before the wooden door swung open to reveal a rather tall man with blond hair and blue eyes. A smile grew on his face when he saw who his visitors were, "Ah—you must be the people Yuri told me about. Come in, Come in." He motioned moving to the side as he let them pass him. "I'm Hiro, Yuri's husband… Let me show you around. Follow me."

'_He seems pretty friendly.'_ Mai thought as he pointed to the living room and kitchen as well as the guest rooms that they'd be sleeping in and finally the room that would be base. "Is this to your liking?" the blond man asked patiently.

Naru looked over the room silently, before giving a light nod.

Hiro's warm smile grew, "Then please tell me if there is anything else you need." He said with a bow before leaving the room.

Naru turned to Lin and Mai the moment the blond was out of sight. "Let's start setting up base."

As the three of them walked back outside the house, a familiar vehicle pulled up. Mai smiled a bit, "Monk!" She ran up to the car as the figures started to step out. The brunette stopped when she saw the greasy tire tracks on Monks face. Mai held in a laugh, "W-what happened to you?"

Monk scratched the back of his head, "Let's just say a flying tire was hurled at my head…."

Ayako huffed crossing her arms, "Serves you right."

"Now. Now. Ayako… I'm sure that he didn't mean it…" John cut in, trying his best to reassure the woman.

Naru cleared his throat, "You're late. Get to work."

Despite Monk and Ayako's protests, they all did as they were told.

* * *

Monk dusted off his hands and sighed, "That's the last of it."

Mai snickered, "You sure you didn't hurt your back, _old man_?"

"Why you—" Monk pulled the brunette in and gave her a noogie.

Their little moment was interrupted by Naru, "If you two are done, then let's continue with what we came here to do." Closing a file he looked up at everyone, "Monk and Matsuzki-san, start sweeping the house."

"Whatever you say _boss_." Monk stated jokingly as he followed Ayako out of the room.

Blue eyes soon fell on his assistant and the priest. "Mai… finish setting up the camera for the living room; Father Brown would you mind accompanying her?" It was more of an order that a question of course.

John nodded and turned to Mai, "Shall we get going?"

Flashing a smile, the brunette picked up the camera Naru had been referring to and nodded. The two quietly left the room, leaving Naru and Lin to their work.

It was silent as they walked down the hall. It had been a few days since she had last seen John, he'd been busy with a few things so he wasn't seen much lately. Mai finally decided to break the silence, "Hey… john?"

"Hm?" the blond answered, glancing in her direction.

"…" she paused for a minute, she hadn't really thought of anything to say. So she just said whatever came to her mind, "How's Father Tojo and the children?"

John blinked, but then smiled. "They're doing well. They've been asking me when you and Monk would come back to play." He admitted with a chuckle.

Mai chuckled with him, "Really? Maybe me and Monk could come and visit them soon. I'm pretty good with kids." She stated confidently.

The Aussie nodded, "That would be nice. I'm sure Father Tojo wouldn't mind."

As they entered the living room, Mai shuttered a bit. The room looked normal… inviting even, but for some reason it felt as if there were suddenly a pair of eyes on them, watching their every move… this was probably just paranoia but never the less it kind of freaked her out.

Setting the camera down in the far corner of the room, she turned it on and stepped back. "That should do it—" the brunette gave a puzzled look as she stared into the lens of the camera, the color drained from her face. In the reflection she could see a pale woman with long stringy black hair. Mai turned around… but there wasn't anything there. She looked back but she couldn't see it anymore.

John gave the girl a puzzled look, "You ok Mai?"

"Y-yeah, my eyes are just playing tricks on me…" she said running a shaky hand through her hair.

Suddenly a voice was heard from the device startling the two a bit, "Mai… Get your unusually large head out of the lens, if you want to stare at your reflection do it in a mirror." Naru's voice rang coldly from the speaker. Mai glared and the voice continued, "Father Brown… you may go help Monk and Matsuzki –san sweep the house."

John nodded, "Alright then."

"Mai, Tea." The voice said, before the microphone turned off.

Sighing the girl followed John out of the room, before they split up.

"Mai tea. Mai tea." Mai repeated, as she did a poor impersonation of her boss. "If anyone stares at their reflection in a camera lens it's Naru! Heck, when he gives people eye contact he's probably just staring at the reflection in their eyes!" she complained quietly as she entered the kitchen. "Stupid narcissist…" the brunette hissed. Yawning she started preparing the tea.

* * *

"KYAAAAA!" a scream echoed through the house.

Soon there were rushing footsteps before Monk and John busted through the kitchen door. Mai was on the kitchen floor shaking with Hiro already by her side. A knife was protruding out of the kitchen wall… as if someone… or something had thrown it.

"Mai what happened?" Monk asked coming to her aid.

"I was making Naru's tea… and all of a sudden one of the drawers opened and the knife came flying straight for me!" she stated as the monk patted her head, in an attempt to calm her down.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hiro asked a worried look plastered on his face.

"I… I am fine." She stated calming herself down.

Soon Naru, Lin, Ayako, and Yuri had gathered there as well. Ayako pushed Monk out of the way and gave the small brunette a hug. "Did purvey old monk hurt you?"

Monk started to protest, "Since when is this, _my_ fault."

As the two's bickering went on, Naru turned his attention to the owners of the house. "Anzai-sans, if you would follow me please… I have a few more questions to ask you."

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry if this is a bit boring, still getting the hang of this! But I'll make the next one a bit more interesting ~

Anywho, make sure to read and review! I'd really like to hear your thoughts on things and such.


	3. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt3

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.3**

Mai, Ayako, Monk, and John stood outside of the base while Naru and Lin interviewed the couple. They could hear faint voices, but nothing they could make out. After a few minutes, Hiro and Yuri stepped out of the room… Yuri looked a bit shaken, but never the less gave the four a light force smile before she was lead silently away by her husband who looked a bit exhausted himself.

Lin was soon in the doorway and motioned for them to come back in. Everyone shuffled into base, their eyes seemed to be glued to the raven haired boy whose icy blue eyes were scanning over a few notes. All was quiet until Monk finally decided to speak up. "So… did you find out anything?"

Naru stayed silent for a second longer before closing his notebook, "This house, before Anzai-san's mother bought it, was owned by distant relatives. It would seem that her mother had refused to tell her too much about them… so she does not have the details. Therefore, I've asked Yasuhara to look into things for me… something tragic happened here, and we're going to find out what."

A few more moments of awkward silence occurred before Ayako spoke up, "So then what are we supposed to do while we wait for four eyes?"

"I want Monk to try and perform an exorcism in the living room, Father Brown will go with him just in case. Lin and I need to go check a few things… so Ayako and Mai stay here. All of you make sure to stick together." Naru ordered, before he and his Chinese assistant left the room.

Monk sighed, "Geeze… same old Naru…." Cracking his fingers he looked over to the blonde haired Aussie, "Come on John."

John nodded and turned to the girls, "Later then." The two men walked out of the room as well.

Mai had been silent most of the time because she had been fighting off sleep, she hadn't gotten too much of it for the past few days and it was starting to catch up with her. The brunette nodded off a bit, before shooting her head back up. Ayako chuckled, "If you're tired Mai then you can sleep on the couch for a bit… I'll keep an eye on the monitors."

The young girl shook her head, "No… I'm… not… tired…" she said with an unconvincing drowsy voice.

The Miko guided the brunette over to the couch anyway. "It's ok, I'll be right here." She assured her.

No more protesting came from the Mai's mouth, once her head hit the softness of the couch she was out like a light.

_Mai's eyes opened. As she sat up she realized she had somehow made it back into the living room. Standing up off the cold wooden floor, she looked around. 'Wasn't I just at base?' she thought before she spotted a familiar smiling face._

"_Naru!" she stated happily she took a step toward him but stopped when he shook his head and put a finger to his lips. Mai gave him a puzzled look. Naru soon turned his head and stared off at a corner of the room, his finger left his lips and pointed in that direction. Mai's eyes followed._

_The room started to become distorted as that same woman from her dreams, as well as the one from the camera lens, slowly started to become visible. She was clenching her ears as if she was hearing painful voices. Tears started to stream down her cheeks, but then she relaxed and looked up her face held an almost frightened expression. The woman began to mouth out words, but no sound came out. Mai struggled to try and make out the words be she couldn't…_

And that's when she woke up.

* * *

THUD!

Everyone's head turned to the origin of the noise only to see that Mai had fallen off the couch. The girl had been a sleep for at least an hour or so, and in that time Lin, Naru, Monk, and John had come back. Mai moaned as she was helped up by Monk. This gave her a chance to notice the bandages on his arms and face, blinking she turned to John who was also patched up. _'Just what happen while I was asleep?'_

Monk smiled lightly as if he had read her mind, "Let's just say the exorcism didn't work that well…" His eyes then glanced at the raven haired boy in his chair. "…but then, you already knew that it wouldn't, didn't you Naru?"

Icy blue eyes fell on the elder man as Naru shut his notebook. "It was necessary."

Ayako shot him a glare, "It was necessary? What if those two had gotten more than just a few scratches?"

The young ghost hunter closed his eyes, "It wouldn't have come to that… not with her, anyway."

The Miko gave him a questioning glance, "How are you so sure…"

"Because she's not the one pulling the strings."

"It's not me…" she mumbled lowly. Mai's hand went over her mouth in her realization. That was what the woman had been trying to say to her.

Monk looked at the girl questionably, "What was that?"

The brunette stiffed when she realized she had been given everyone's full attention. Biting her lip she pretended to correct herself, "I said, 'I'll go make tea.'"

"Mai—"

Before anyone could finish protesting she moved towards the door, only to bump into another familiar face. Yasuhara. Holding her nose she backed up a bit.

"Sorry Mai-chan… didn't see you there." The boy said goofily before he brought his attention to Naru. "Well boss, I did some research on the previous owners like you told me to and I found a few interesting things." He stated stepping into the room and waving a stack of notes in his hand.

"Go on." Naru ordered.

Everyone took a seat before he continued, "I managed to ask around some of Yuri-san's relatives and they all seemed to tell a similar story… The 'distant relatives ' that was spoken of before were The Hayuata family. It consisted of a married couple and their twin daughters, Sana and Ami. The parents ran a prosperous business from home, which is why they were able to afford such a beautiful house. When the two girls turned the age of eighteen, their parents suddenly disappeared… no one really knows what happened to them, but after their disappearance the eldest of the twins, Sana, took decided to take care of their business in her parents' place. She would do anything to make sure that her sister was taken care of properly. Though one day… her sister, Ami, fell in love with a handsome man and it was said that they were deeply in love. Sana was suspicious of this man; he had quite the reputation from what she had heard. Her suspicions were proven when her sister started coming home with bruises on her body and face. This was not something she could forgive. One day she confronted the man while her sister was away. One thing led to another and the last thing she knew, he was on the floor dead. That was how Ami found the two when she returned home. Something in Sana had snapped and she began taking it out on Ami. Just before she tried to stab her own sister, she realized what she was doing and ended up…"

"…Stabbing herself." Mai said finishing the sentence.

Naru's cold stare rested on the girl, "Mai… what aren't you telling us?"

The brunette swallowed, "I've… been having… dreams…" she finally managed to say, looking down at her feet.

"And you neglected to tell us this?" Monk asked his tone sort of similar to a calm but angry father.

"….But."

"But?" monk repeating waiting for her to finish her statement.

"Yasu's story… something's not right… In my dream, Sana told Ami that she too had loved the guy." Mai stated.

"Maybe Ami altered the story…" Ayako said, as if it was obviously the answer.

"But why make her sister look bad?" John questioned.

"Is there anything else you didn't mention, Mai?" Naru asked a bit annoyed the girl had yet again kept something useful to the case hidden.

The girl then decided to explain both of her recent dreams, leaving out the parts about Naru of course, when she was finished Yasu snapped his fingers. "Oh almost forgot…" shuffling through the papers he pulled out a picture a set it on the table. Everyone's face, except Lin and Naru's, went into shock.

"Doesn't that look like…"

"Yuri." Ayako said finishing Monk's sentence.

The picture was of the sisters, there was one with long black hair. Who they guessed was both Sana and the spirit that had been showing her face a lot lately, which left the one on the right to be Ami. This one was the spitting image of Yuri, their hair was a similar length and her expression was a more softened look that that of her elder sister, Sana.

"Interesting…" was all the Naru stated as he closed his eyes in thought.

* * *

**A/N:** Hurray! Another Chapter! I hope this was good…

I'm not too sure about it, my thoughts were pretty crowded and it was hard of me to think straight (for some odd reason), but any who I hope you all at least semi-like it, yeah?

Don't forget to read and review! Reviews make me happy and they're fun to read so don't forget that!


	4. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt4

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.4**

Yuri awoke to the sound of running feet. Pulling the covers over her head, she snuggled closer to her husband who was soundly asleep. She felt a light gust of wind pass her as her bedroom door creaked open. Fear soon replaced by curiosity and the woman cautiously sat up, looking to the door. No one was there. Turning her head over to her clock she exhaled tiredly, it was about three in the morning… everyone was most likely sleeping. Her eyes went back to the door.

The woman slid off her bed silently, as not to wake Hiro, and slipped on her robe. Tying it, she slowly made her way to the door. Her bare feet cringed slightly at the feeling of the icy hardwood her head out of her room, she looked down one end of the hall and then the other. Hugging herself, she made her way down the hall… something she had never done at night after the events had started to happen. The silence scared her, hugging herself tighter she bit her lip… just where was she going anyway? She didn't know… but it felt as if she needed to check things out.

As she walked passed one of the bedroom doors, it swung open making Yuri squeak. An equally shocked Mai covered her own mouth in an attempt to stop herself from letting out a scream.

"M-Mai-san…?"

"Oh… it's just you…" the brunette said with a sigh of relief.

"What are y-you doing up?"

"I thought I heard running a little bit ago."

"So did I…"

Mai frowned a bit and then stepped out of her room and into the hallway with Yuri before closing the door behind her. "You shouldn't be out here by yourself."

"Neither should you…" the woman countered shyly.

The high schooler smiled, "Well, I guess it'd be fine if we were with each other… I can't seem to get any sleep anyway and I just can't leave you to check things out on your own…"

Yuri nodded, "It would make me feel better to have some company."

"Right."

The two walked side by side down the hall. Silence over took them with each step. As they reached the stairs the two looked at each other before they headed down. They avoided the living room, but as they passed the door to the basement it slowly swung open. They both jumped grabbing onto each other as they peered into the darkness.

"W-What's down there?" Mai asked glancing at Yuki.

The woman shrugged squeezing the brunette's arm, "I'm n-not sure…. I haven't been d-down there in so long…."

The two were silenced by the cackling of both a man and a woman. Shock spread across their faces, they could see at the bottom of the steps that lend to the basement, two spirits beginning to form and slowly come up the steps. Though before they could make it up any further Yuki had grabbed the door and slammed it shut, locking it.

As she did so the house went into chaos. The door raddled as if it was going to be broken down at any moment, the other doors around the house began slamming themselves over and over in a hissy fit. The floor boards rumbled and shook making the two lose their balance, Mai groaned in pain as her head slammed against the basement door. She slumped down holding her head.

"Mai!" Yuri shouted tapping the girls face, "Mai are you ok?"

"Yuri!" Hiro's voice was heard faintly in the all noise from upstairs, it was soon followed by Ayako's call for Mai.

The woman turned to the stairs, "Down here. We're down here!"

Mai could soon hear the faint footsteps as her companions ran down the stairs. The girl's vision went blurry as her head throbbed. She painted, trying her best to keep her focus on Yuri who looked at her with a worried expression. Despite her efforts it wasn't long before the darkness over took her.

_Mai blinked finding herself in a meadow, her head wasn't throbbing anymore. '_Another dream?'_ she thought questionably before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Spinning around she soon faced a smiling Naru. Though he's smile faltered a bit, "Mai… I don't have much time to talk but… you have to separate the lies from the truth…"_

_Mai blinked, "The lies from the truth…?"_

_Naru nodded and grabbed her hand; they were soon in the house though the walls were transparent. "What do you see?"_

_The girl looked around, "Spots… one in the basement, then the attic, the living room….and finally there's one moving down the hallways."_

"_Look closer…"_

_Mai tiled he head to the side, "They're…. people….hey that's Sana in the living room." She pointed out, "and that's a guy in the hallway…. Ami, why is she in the attic?"_

_Naru didn't answer, "and what about the basement?"_

"_I…. I don't know… it's kind of distorted… but it looks like a couple…" the brunette stated._

_The boy looked to his left as if he had heard something, "Times up, you've gotta wake up Mai."_

_Mai looked at him in confusion, his hand then went to her cheek. "Quickly… oh and one more thing, don't—"_

She didn't hear the rest before she was awake again.

* * *

"Mai, wake up! This isn't time for a nap." a familiar voice stated, barely audible over the noises of the house.

The girl's eyes slowly opened, her face flushed a deep red when she found herself in the arms of none other than Naru the narcissist, though the moment was short lived when she realized her surroundings.

Nothing had changed, the doors were opening and closing at an amazing speed, the hinges threatening to break and you could hear items being thrown across the other rooms. Mai grabbed onto Naru's shirt.

"Naru!" Lin's voice could be heard from the base, it was the only semi-safe room in the house.

"We're on our way!" the blue eyed boy called back before her turned to Mai, "Can you stand on your own?"

Mai nodded slowly, before she was helped up by Naru. The two tried to keep their balance as Naru lead the way to base, holding the girl's hand firmly in his.

As they entered the room, Lin and Monk struggled to do their best to slide the door shut. The floors were still but the door and windows rattled. Mai frowned as Naru's hand left hers, taking all of her feelings of being safe with it.

Brown eyes looked around the room; everyone seemed to be accounted for. Hiro was comforting Yuri on the couch. Ayako was next to the two, as she tended to a large cut on the woman's cheek. Naru, John, Monk, and Lin were seemed to be arguing about something.

The room went silent; it was a tense kind of silence… as if it was not yet over. Soon after, the calm ended loud screams and moans were heard outside of the door, thuds were heard every now and then slamming against the walls and floors almost like a struggle of some sort.

"It sounds like… fighting…" Yuri commented as the rest quietly agreed.

"There are five of them. I saw five of them." Mai blurted out as she hugged herself. "Separate the lies from the truth…" she whispered to herself quietly.

Soon the screams were replaced by chants and calls, all for the same person. "Ami…. Ami…" The chants were long and drawn out, almost as if how someone would call a person they were looking for in a game of hide and seek.

Monk looked to Naru, "You don't think that they are mistaking Yuri for…"

"Ami." Naru finished before his eyes rested on Mai. The noises and rattling stopped. "Tell me about the sprits you saw."

Mai then explained about the hallway, basement, living room, and finally the attic.

Yuri spoke up, "The attic…? That place has been sealed off for a long time… there's some kind of charm or something on it… as if someone doesn't want something out…"

"…or something to get in." Monk stated putting his chin into his hand.

"How did Ami die anyway?" Ayako asked.

"Suicide," Naru answered running a hand through his hair. "She hung herself in the attic a few weeks after her sister's death."

"And what about the people in the basement, or the guy in the hallway… who are they?"

"We don't know."

"Ugh, this thing is becoming even more confusing… just what is happening?"

Mai inhaled sharply when she felt a cold hand press against her back. No one was behind her. _'Lend me your voice.'_ The voice of a young man whispered in her ear… the others didn't seem to hear it. The man's voice was calm, almost soothing.

Hesitating she relaxed with a light nod. Soon she could no longer control her body, it was a weird feeling… but luckily she was still conscious. Her mouth started to move, though it was not her words. "I can clear things up for you."

Everyone turned to Mai who had crossed her arms and was now leaning smugly against a far wall, a serious and calm expression was spread across her face. She was completely out of character.

"Mai—" the monk corrected himself when he saw the dullness in the girl's eyes. "Who are you?"

A faint smile crossed the girl's lips, "I'm Kenji… Ami's lover."

* * *

**A/N:** Oooo, I think I just got my thoughts together… believe it or not, I had no idea how I was going to do this case… I was just kind of going with the flow. ( /snicker ) but! I've almost completely figured out how things are gonna go, next chapter will probably be the end of this case or the chapter after that will end it.

Ok, Kenji is the guy that was supposedly abusive ( in yasu's vision of the story ) and was also the guy that was killed by Sana ( supposedly. ) I just found a good name for him that I liked which is why I hadn't named him until now.

Remember give me some reviews! I'll love you forever if you do! Also if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear them. :3


	5. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt5

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.5**

"What do you want with Mai?" Ayako asked, worried for the possessed brunette.

"She's letting me borrow her voice. Do you want to hear what I have to say or not?" Mai/Kenji asked impatiently as if he didn't have much time.

Naru nodded, "Continue."

The high schooler ran a hand through her hair, "That couple in the basement… this is all their doing, it has been that way from the very beginning." She/He paused before continuing, "That man, and that woman… they're Sana and Ami's parents. The ones that you believed 'disappeared'."

"and your saying that, that is not the case?" Monk asked.

"Exactly. They were killed… by their own daughter."

Monk and John's eyes widened as Ayako gasped, "Sana?"

Mai/Kenji shook their head, "No… Ami." A saddened chuckle escaped the girl's lips, "Though, I didn't find that little detail out until moments before my death…" She/He sighed, "Anyway… the reason the story doesn't match up is because Ami twisted it in order to hide what she had done. You see, it was not I who was the abusive one… it was her father. Their mother didn't do anything to stop his tirade either. Ami was the one that snapped, killed them, and buried them in the basement. Sana did not speak a word of what her sister had done to anyone; she instead took over the family business in order to protect her.

"Her parents' spirits came back with a vengeance. They tormented Ami for what she had done. Sana too started to be affected by their presence. With each passing day it would get worse. Each had near death experiences almost every day… a fallen bookshelf, a flying knife… the list goes on.

"I met Ami a few weeks later after the hauntings started, we met at a park… she seemed a bit dejected and withdrawn. It seemed like the whole world was on the shoulders, so I began talking with her. We hit it off pretty well…" Closing her/his eyes, the story continued. "I would often visit her house; there were times when she wouldn't be there… and I didn't think to ask where she had gone. Instead on those days I would speak with Sana while I waited for Ami's return, she was a bit more reserved than her sister but none the less a good person to hold a conversation with.

"Then one day I stopped by the house. Ami had gone out again but Sana assured me she'd be back soon and motioned me to wait in the living room. I didn't know… I didn't know that Sana had been possessed…. I died right there and she soon followed after." Kenji/Mai stated lowering his/her head a bit.

The room was silent. Mai's eyebrows furrowed, "Sana's spirit is being controlled by those two… they want Ami…" His/her eyes looked over at Yuri, "You look so much like her…. They've mistaken her for you."

Hiro's grip tightened on his wife, Kenji smiled sadly before looking at the others, "After the death of Sana and I, Ami fell into depression and hung herself a week later. That seal on the door protects her from her parents… I can't even pass through… once that door is open, they'll come for her."

"Why don't you seem to be under their control?" asked Naru, unaffected by the depressing atmosphere.

"Oh, believe me… they've tried… it's just a matter of time before my will gives out as well…" the brunette's fist clenched, before he/she relaxed. "They've stopped for now, so you all will be fine for a while…. Good luck." And this that, Mai's body when limp and fell forward.

Being the closest, John caught her. The girl's eyes open slowly and the Aussie smiled, "Welcome back Mai."

"I'm back." She weakly with a light smile, Monk and Ayako soon embraced the brunette.

* * *

Monk pillow was shoved into Mai's face, "Sleep."

The girl swatted the pillow away from her face, "I can't just go to sleep, I'm not even tired!"

"But if you have one of those dreams again, we may be able to figure things out… after all we still don't know if we can trust what Kenji said." Yasu stated pushing his glasses up a bit.

Mai sighed, that was true… though something told her what Kenji had said was right… but it was lacking something, she just wasn't sure what.

"Fine, but no promises." Snatching the pillow from Monk she laid down on the couch, glancing at the ceiling. Everyone stared at her with anticipation and an annoyed look spread across her face. Mai turn to look at them, "I can't go to sleep if you're looking at me like that." she complained.

Monk stood up and grabbed John's shoulder, "Come on guys let's get something to eat." Looking back at the ceiling she closed her eyes and listened as the other's shuffled out the door. The room was quiet except for the occasional typing from Lin's computer of a page turn from Naru's notes. It would seem those two had stayed behind. Turning over to her side she fell into a deep sleep.

_Mai tilted her head, somehow she had made it to the front of the house. Though it looked a bit different… much more young and new. It took her a while, but the girl soon noticed two figures sitting on the steps. It was Sana and Kenji. Kenji had long red hair tied back into a ponytail and golden eyes. _

_The two seemed to be talking about something, Sana laughed and Kenji soon followed. They looked like they were enjoying their selves. _

"_Kenji?"_

_Their laughing soon stopped at the sound of a familiar voice. Kenji stood up and smiled, "Ah—Ami your back." He walked up to the young girl and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "I've been waiting for you… come on I want to take you somewhere." Ami nodded and the two looked back at Sana and waved before leaving._

_Mai watched as Sana's smiled turned into a sad one as the woman watched the two walk off. Sighing she stood up, a crash was heard inside and she ran in to see what had caused it._

_A bad feeling rose up in Mai's stomach, 'Don't go in there…' she thought about to run after Sana… but a hand caught her wrist. She whipped around to see Naru._

"_There's nothing you can do." He said sadly._

_Mai hung her head. "Sana really did love Kenji didn't she?"_

_Naru nodded, "and her parents' spirits took advantage of that and used her."_

_The brunette held back tears. "That's horrible…" Naru touched her head, she looked up at him before he disappeared. Her surrounds did the same a moment later._

* * *

"Mai… Mai…"

A warm hand touched her cheek, as she opened her eyes she found blue ones staring right back. Naru was kneeling beside her, he moved his hand from her face as she sat up. "What did you see?" he asked not wasting any time.

Mai whipped her face after realizing she had been crying. The brunette then proceeded to explain her dream, once again removing Dream Naru from it.

After she finished Naru stood. "So that's how it is…" He began to walk over to the door, but stopped once he reached the thresh hold. "Let's end this."

* * *

**A/N:** Yes! I have decided to make the next chapter the one to end it… Just because I can :3

Soooo, how do you like it? Hm? Hm? Please tell me if you did!


	6. Case 1  Deadly Love Triangle Pt6

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 1 – Deadly Love Triangle Pt.6**

"Ne, Naru?" Mai called to the raven haired teen.

"What?" he asked, not even bothering to look at her.

"…Um…" she tried to muster up her words, "Are you sure we should be doing this?"

He didn't answer, but instead looked to Monk and John. "Are you ready?" They nodded before monk opened the basement door… a chilling air passed them… but other than that it was silent. Monk went down first flashlight in hand, followed by john, Naru, and Lin. Ayako and Mai stood in front of the door, watching as they disappeared into the darkness.

"Are you coming?" The two heard a cold voice say.

Holding onto each other, the two girls descended the old steps that led into the basement. Once they got to the bottom they found the guys scanning their surroundings. The basement was extremely old and dusty, Yuki hadn't been kidding when she said she hadn't been down there in a while… There wasn't much down there besides a few crates and barrels, and a few boxes. Some of the things seemed like they could be from Sana and Ami's time period.

A few minutes later the temperature started to drop. Mai swallowed hard at the sight of her out breath and rubbed her chilled arms.

The chuckling from an unknown source seemed to bounce off the old and fragile walls of the cellar. Everyone tensed, unsure of where the origin of the voice was coming from. They regrouped, backing up so that they gathered themselves into a tight circle in an attempt to watch each other's backs.

"Where's Ami…?" The ghastly voice questioned in an eerie manner bringing everyone's eyes attention on a far off corner near an old whine barrel. There an image of a couple soon materialized and stood arm and arm, their appearance was horrid. The woman's head was bashed in and a dark liquid slid down the side of her face and dripped onto her kimono. The man's jaw hung unhinged from his face, making his speech pattern sloppy. The smell emanating off of their rotting flesh was almost unbearable.

"Bring her down… she's been very naughty…" The man ordered ominously, his jaw swinging viciously with every word.

"Just leave her alone!" Mai spoke, taking a step forward. "What she did was wrong, but you can't let this go on…. you guys are family!"

The man glared at the teen, he didn't seem to take too kindly to disobedience. As if acting upon his anger a strong and violent gust of wind knocked picked up and the girl off her feet. Mai flew into the nearest wall full force. As she made contact with the weak surface it gave in broke down, debris fell on top of her as she hit ground, gasping upon impact.

"Mai!" Ayako called, running to the girl's aid.

"Monk now!" Naru ordered.

The man gave a nod and started to chant, "Naumaku san mandra bazaradan kan."

The woman clung on to the man's arm, scowling at the monk. The wind in the room picked up once again and started to whirl around the group, tattering their clothes and cutting their skin. Boxes tumbled, dust and objects flying around the room with no sense of direction.

Monk continued with his mantra, "Naumaku san mandra bazaradan kan!" The couple howled.

Ayako's face paled when she had finally reached Mai. The brunette held her head and slowly opened her eyes, giving the red headed woman a questionable glance… her eyes widened at the sight of something boney and white resting on her shoulder. It took her only a minute to register what it was and once she did… "KYAAAAAAA!"

* * *

Mai stared at the two human skeletons laid out on a tarp in the hallway. It had taken awhile, but she believed that all of the pieces had been gathered. They had once been the twin's parents.

She shuttered, not believing that she had fallen on these exact bones not too long ago. Her eyes lingered on the skeletons a bit longer as she faintly listened to Monk and Naru's conversation… it would seem that the exorcism had in fact worked and Ayako had removed the seal that had been placed on the attic with no problem.

The brunette's attention soon turned to three figures that slowly began to appear before her. Though she was not startled by this, for these were the faces of Kenji, Ami, and Sana. They smiled at her, their bodies basking in a warm glow. You could tell that they were finally at peace, which gave a Mai a warm feeling of accomplishment… even if she hadn't done much.

"Thank you…" Kenji said with a bow.

"We knew you could do it." Ami spoke, taking a bow as well.

Sana nodded silently before doing the same.

"I guess this means good bye then." Mai stated returning their warm smiles.

"Mai who are you talking to?" Naru asked.

The high schooler turned to look at him, "Let's just say… Case closed."

Mai waved at Yuri and Hiro before stepping into the van. A sigh of relief leaving her lips, the two had decided it would be best to give the bones a proper burial… considering that the Hayuata couple as still related to them… even if they had never met in person.

Mai had been also pleased to hear that Yuri and Hiro would be having an addition to their family in about nine months. She couldn't help but wish them the best of luck and told them they had to make sure to keep in touch with her… only to later get reprimanded by Naru for getting too close to the clients, not that she'd listen to him anyway…

Smiling the girl looked out the window as the car drove off, the larger house grew farther and farther away. Closing her eyes she drifted off to sleep, this time she slept without any trouble.

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! I decided to upload this one too, because I was bored and finished it. ( even if I still have homework to do… but since it's the weekend it can wait! ) Though, I'm kind of nervous about how it ended… I don't know how well you'll like it or not….seeing as it _is_ a bit short… ( /tugs at collar ) well, feel free to tell me your feeling on it! I'll be waiting!

Now I'm off to think about what the next case will be! Bye .

Update: I did edit this a bit… hope it's a bit better!


	7. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt1

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

"Hey are you sure we should be over here, Daisuke?" a blond girl asked holding on to the brow haired boy's shirt.

He chuckled as they continued to stray off the path and into the forest, "Don't worry Rei… We'll be fine. I want to check out something. They say this place is haunted."

"…I don't think we should play around with stuff like this…"

The two continued walking before they stopped by a cave that was carved into the mountain side. "Come on." The boy urged, holding onto the girl's hand as he led her into the dark cave.

Rei squeezed the boy's hand tighter, causing the boy to smirk and squeeze back assuring her everything was fine….

But of course it wasn't.

The two stopped, eyes wide as they stared into the hollow eyes just like those before them had.

As the ghostly figure lunged, Rei screamed.

A half an hour later lights flashed red and blue as paramedics wheeled a broken and unconscious Daisuke into the ambulance. Rei's green eyes watch before her attention was brought back to the officer questioning her. "W-W-We shouldn't h-have come…." Was all she could muster before sobbing into her hands.

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.1**

9:00am August 6th

Mai sighed stretching her arms up in the air, things had been pretty slow since the Anzai case… which wasn't so bad at first, but after a while she started to get bored with filing papers and fetching tea. _'Geeze, Naru stop being so picky and take a case…'_ she grumbled in thought as she leaded back in her chair.

The brunette shot up out of her seat eagerly and ready as she heard the door open, but once she saw who it was, she lowered her head in disappointment. "Oh… it's just you…"

Monk pouted, "Well thanks for being so happy to see me…" He whined before ruffling the girl's hair.

"Sorry, I just thought it'd be someone with a case." She admitted putting a smile back on her face.

Naru cleared his throat, catching the two's attention. "Takigawa, if you've just come for fun I suggest you leave. This is a place of business."

Monk sweat dropped. "Actually, I have something that you may find interesting…"

The boy's cold blue eyes examined the man, as if thinking it over before pushing his office door open. "Come."

Mai looked questionably at the two before watching them disappear into Naru's office. She was about to head back to her desk before she heard two familiar words, "Mai, tea."

The brunette's eyes twitched but none the less, walked into the kitchen to fetch her boss' tea.

Within a few minutes she had finished making Naru's tea and was no making her way out of the kitchen, stepping in front of her boss' office door before knocking a few times.

"Come in."

Mai shifted the tray as she opened the door, Monk scratched his head. "So you can see their dilemma… it would be a great help if you went to take a look…" Setting the cup in front of Naru the brunette looked questionably at the two, just what were they talking about?

The raven haired boy closed his eyes and lifted the tea cup to his lips, as if in thought. A few moments went by before Naru sighed. "We'll take the case."

Monk stood up, failing to calm his happy and relieved nerves. "Sweet!"

* * *

Grumbling to herself, Mai crossed her arms as she stared straight ahead glaring at the black van through the rearview mirror. Masako had some how managed to snag a seat there, which left her to sit with Yasu and John in the back on Monk's car while he bickered with Ayako. Don't get her wrong, she loved these guys to death… she just didn't like the fact that Masako was sitting with Naru.

Wait… why should that bother her anyway…. Lin and Naru weren't the talkative type, it was probably dull in there. The brunette snickered, _'Good luck with hold a good conversation with those two Masako.'_

"Something funny Mai?" Yasuhara asked raising an eyebrow at the girl's devious snicker.

"Huh? Wha—?" Mai snapped out of her thoughts and rubbed the back of her head, "Pfft. No…. not really…" the girl laughed lightly brushing away the awkward atmosphere.

Blinking she looked to Monk who was watching the road, while he and Ayako were having a heated discussion on who was more valuable to the team. "Hey Monk?" Mai asked cutting the two off before someone got hit.

The man looked at her through the mirror, "What is it Mai?"

"I've been meaning to ask, what is this case about exactly?"

"Didn't Naru tell you?" Ayako asked surprised.

Mai shook her head, "All he said was that we were investigating a hiking trail?" She blinked again, "What…? Do all of you guys know?" Everyone went silent. The brunette pouted, _'Naru you jerk! Leaving me out of the loop again!'_

Monk cleared his throat and sweat dropped as if guessing what she was thinking. "Well… to be more specific. My good friend owns a lodge on the mountain side; he's asked that we help with a little problem. You see there is one cave, just off of the hiking trail that has been dubbed off limits. There have been numerous animal attacks there… though there is no sight of an animal nearby. Just last week a couple of teens were attacked, they were lucky to get out alive…."

"I think I've heard about that. The girl was ok, but the guy was put into intensive care right?" Mai asked placing her hand to her chin.

Monk nodded before continuing, "The trail itself has been seeing less visitors lately, people say they've seen things… at times it'd be a large wolf, though it would be too big to be such a thing… and other times a man…."

Ayako cut in, "As for the lodge itself, some freaky things have been happening there. Mostly having to do with a little girl, they say they can hear her sometimes… calling for someone… She's waiting for her father to come back. At night you can hear a small child skipping down the hallway, calling out eerily for her daddy… but he never comes."

Everyone in the car was silent, as if they were still soaking up the last bit of depressing info.

Yasu scratched his cheek, "Man… you guys can tell one hell of a ghost story…"

* * *

**A/N:** Ooooo, nice huh? I liked it, did you like it? Hmmmmm? Hehe, make sure to tell me if you did! Or didn't… but defiantly if you did!


	8. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt2

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.2**

Mai stepped out of the car and stretched, they'd driven for three hours straight so her body was a bit stiff from sitting for so long. Scratching her head, the girl looked at the lodge before them. A smile grew across her face, "Wow, it's so amazing! I've never been to a lodge before…" The gitty girl turned to monk, "Your friend runs this place?"

The man nodded with a light chuckle, "Yep… for over three years now."

"Oh great! You're here." A relieved voice stated. Everyone's attention turned to a man with short spikey dirty blond hair and hazel-ish green eyes immerging from the front door of the wooden building. He was dresses rather casually; wearing a thin light grey sweater over a white t-shirt, a pair of khaki pants, and brown loafers. A light smile was plastered on his face as he approached Monk.

"Long time no see, Hou-kun." The man stated shaking monk's hand firmly, before pulling him into a manly hug.

"It's good to see you again." 'Hou-kun' stated before turning to introduce Naru. "This is Shibuya, Kazuya the guy I spoke to you about before." Monk then gestured to the casually dressed male. "Naru, this is Fuwa, Haru."

Haru smiled brighter and gave Naru a light bow, "It's a pleasure to meet you Shibuya-san. Your just as young as Hou-kun said, it's good to see someone so youthful doing something they enjoy."

The stoic boy nodded, "Thank you for having us, Fuwa-san."

"Well, if you'd follow me I'll show you around…. You're all probably exhausted after the drive, am I right?" Haru stated as he led the group into the building. They walked into an area that looked similar to that of a living room… but had a front desk for people to check in. There were a few people walking around, but if you were to subtract those that worked there… there weren't too many customers.

"As you can see there isn't too much business happening around here… Less and less people have started coming in fear for their lives…." Haru stated as he led the group up a stairwell. His expression was sad; however he refused to stop smiling. He continued to explain the layout of the lodge and were the group would be staying before they stopped at a wooden door. Sliding it open, Haru clapped his hands. "Alright, this is where you can set up base… I hope it's to your standards?" He asked turning to Naru.

The boy took a second to look over the room before nodding.

Haru nodded back before turning to the rest of the group, "Thank you all so much for coming, I really appreciate it."

Naru turned to the blond male, "Fuwa-san… May I have a word?"

"Yes, of course. Though you'll have to follow me, I must get back to work. We'll talk on the way to my office."

Nodding, the raven haired boy turned to the others. "Start setting up while I'm gone." And with that he followed Haru out of the room.

Mai sighed before everyone began bringing in the equipment.

* * *

"Mai, tea."

The brunette sighed once again before stepping out of base, _'Geeze… He can't even take one step into the room before ordering people around.'_ Crossing her arms stubbornly she walked down the hallway and down the stairs, but then something dawned on her. "Where had Fuwa-san said the kitchen was…?" Turning around the corner she stopped, her own brown orbs meeting dark green ones.

A little girl stood there wearing a little white dress and platinum blond hair that fell to her waist. She was holding a tear bear tightly in one of her arms. The little girl couldn't have been more than seven at most.

The young girl tilted her head, "Are you lost miss?"

Mai regained her composure and chuckled, "Yeah… How'd you know?" She asked scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Because the only thing down this way is the janitor's closet."

The teen's cheeks turned a light pink, feeling even more embarrassed. "R-Really?" Kneeling down she gave the little girl a smile, "You wouldn't happen to know were the kitchen is would you?"

The little girl looked over Mai, as if wondering whether to tell her or not before giving Mai a light smile of her own. "Here, I'll show you… Since Daddy hasn't come back yet." She said contently as she grabbed Mai's hand, leading her in the other direction.

"Your Dad?" Mai asked, as if wondering why someone would leave a little one by themselves.

She nodded, "Yep. Daddy said he needed to go somewhere and he'd be back soon… this place is like my home so I don't mind."

"Really? You two live here?"

The girl nodded, "Uh-huh. Daddy's an employee here and we didn't have anywhere else to stay but here." Letting go of Mai's hand she stopped and looked behind them.

Mai gave her a questioning look before doing the same. A smile grew on her face as a familiar figure approached. "Ah—Hey Fuwa-san."

The blond looked up from a book in his hand and stopped in front of the high schooler. He returned the smile, "Hello… You're Mai correct?" Mai nodded, "Hou-kun told me about you. You're like a little sister to him apparently and I can see why." Haru stated with a light chuckle. "Were you heading somewhere?"

"Oh yeah, she was just—" Mai's sentence was cut short we she realized that the little girl was no longer there. "That's odd… She was just here…"

Haru tilted his head, "Who was?"

"A little girl… She was showing me to the kitchen." The girl stated giving a puzzled look.

"Hmmm, maybe I scared her off…." Haru stated looking around. His eyes fell back on Mai, "Well… I'm heading down that way, I could take you."

"I guess so, I mean if it's not too much trouble."

He shook his head, "Its fine. It's just down this way." Haru explained as the two began walking again.

"Fuwa-san…"

"Please, just call me Haru… Fuwa-san is my father."

Mai nodded, "Haru-san, how do you know Monk?"

Haru gave the girl a light smile, "I met him when he and his band were just starting out. I was in collage at the time. He was a pretty rebellious guy back then; he kind of still is in some ways. It's been a while since I've seen him, but we've always kept in touch.

"So you guys are pretty close then?"

He nodded, "Hou-kun is kind of like a brother, we used to both push each other to do our best."

The conversation went on for a bit before they both stopped in front of a pair of double doors. "Here we are, Mai. Let me know if you need anything else." Haru told her before continuing down the hall and around a corner. Mai watched as him leave before smiling to herself as she opened the door, _'What a nice guy.'_

* * *

"It's cold." Naru stated bluntly, but none the less took another sip.

"Well, _excuse me_ for not being able to find my way around this place. All the corners look the same!"

"You're excused."

Mai's eyebrow twitched, "What?" The brunette was about to ring the boy's neck but was held back by Monk and John.

Naru ignored the girl and turned to the others, "I've gathered a bit more information about the case." The room settled down as the boy continued. "It seems that the events around here started happening around the time an employee died up in the cave. His name was Akiyama, Shin. He was mauled by a wolf. He had a daughter by the name of Hiroko, who died a few days after."

"What was the cause?" Monk asked.

"Ever since she was born, Hiroko had a weak heart… the news of her father's death seemed to have made it worse."

"That's horrible." Mai stated holding her hand to her chest.

Naru pulled out a picture from his coat pocket and set it down on the table, "Here's a picture of the two of them."

The brunette's eyes widened, "I-I've seen that little girl."

* * *

**A/N:** Hehe, another chapter completed! I feel so accomplished. :3

Remember, R&R it makes me happy and I love reading your thoughts!


	9. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt3

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.3**

"Are you all ready?" Naru asked over the microphone.

Mai watch the monitor as Monk scratched the back of his head, "Readier than we'll ever be…"

"Proceed."

Naru and Mai sat in base ( because the cave would be, in Lin's words, 'too dangerous' for them considering they couldn't protect themselves… which did not make naru a happy camper… ) while Lin, Monk, and John scoped out the cave. This was risky considering that they could not convince the living victims from the last attack to speak with them… so they can to find out first hand.

Ayako and Masako, on the other hand, were walking around the lodge to see if they could try and speak with the little girl. _'Lucky…'_ Mai thought, resting her head into her hands… It was better than sitting in base cooped up with a stoic narcissist, even if she did have happened to have fallen for the guy….

Lin was holding one of the cameras so the two of them could see what was happening. Naru and Mai stayed silent as the three men continued into the cave.

"Mai… Did the girl you believed to be Hiroko seem to know she was dead?" The raven haired boy asked, his eyes not leaving the screen.

The brunette looked at him for a moment before shaking her head, "I don't think so… She said she was waiting for her father…"

"I see…" Was all he replied, before becoming silent again.

Mai's attention when back to the monitor when John mutter a low, "My God…" as soon as her eyes scanned the screen, they widened. A pale man stood before the view of the camera. His hair was over his eyes, and his clothes were tattered and blood spotted. Dirt and grime covered his face. Despite his appearance, there was no doubt that it was Shin. She wanted to turn away from the horrible image, but her eyes stayed glued to him.

The man looked, up finally revealing, not eyes, but the sockets were eyes once rested. "I won't go… You can't make me go… Not yet…" Shin mumbled over and over again, and with one swift motion too quick for the human eye he lunged at Monk, rapping his filthy hands around his neck. Lin dropped the camera, giving Naru and Mai only a good view of their feet as the men scrambled into action.

Soon there was the sound of John praying, the snapping on someone's bone, a cry in pain, a whistle, another much more deeper cry… and then things went silent. Only panting could be heard.

"Naru, what happen? Are they ok?" Mai asked frantically, her eyes searching the screen.

Instead of answering the girl, Naru pressed the button on the microphone. "Monk…?" Silence. "John….?" The scuffling of feet was heard that time. "Lin?"

"We're fine... Takigawa is a bit bruised and John's arm is broken, but no one's dead." Lin said calmly as he picked up the camera. The image of a panting Monk and a John holding his right arm came into view. "Shin is only wounded… He's not destroyed." He added, before anyone could ask.

"Come back to base." The boy ordered.

Mai let out a light sigh of relief, before she started to become light sigh headed. She swayed in her seat dizzily.

"Mai?" Naru called to her, though she was barely aware of that fact as she started to lean over, falling out of the chair. "Mai!"

She heard the raven haired boy call again before everything went dark.

_Mai blinked at the sun glaring down on her face, that odd… wasn't it dark out? The brunette looked around. She was on the trail that led from the lodge to up the mountain. Her brown orbs rested on a group of people, there was a young woman with long brown hair, a man with bleached hair and green eyes, and next to them was Shin all wearing the lodge's employee uniform. They were walking up the trail with a group of small kids. One of them was Hiroko._

_Feeling the need to, Mai followed behind the group… none of them seeming to notice her presence._

"_So you're feeling better now?" One of the little boys asked Hiroko._

_The little blond girl nodded, holding her stuffed teddy bear tightly. "Yep!" She stated smiling widely._

_The woman with the long brown hair turned to the group of children, "Now remember kids, stick together ok?"_

"_Ok!" They all stated in unison._

_The group continued to walk down the trail, though they stopped momentarily. As the woman and Shin spoke, Mai watched as Hiroko stood a bit farther from the group staring at the forest… a curious look on her face._

_Mai because uneasy went the girl was no longer near the group. _'Where, did she go? I only looked away from a second!'_ she thought._

"_Kin-nee… Shin-nii… Where did Hiroko-chan go?" One of the little girls asked the two adults._

_Shin looked around frantically._

"_KYAAAAA!"_

_Everyone froze before Shin took off in a run in the direction of the voice, "HIROKO!"_

"_Kin stay here with the kids." The man with bleached hair told the woman, before taking off after Shin._

_Mai followed, _'Please be ok…'_ She pleaded. The brunette stopped as soon as the men did. A gasp escaped her lips; there right in front of the cave Hiroko was on the ground knocked out but alive… and a large wolf towered over her growling in her face._

_Shin did the first thing that came to his mind, grabbing a rock he chucked it at the beast. Grabbing its attention, "Leave her alone. Come get me instead." He told it crouching and staring at its eyes. The wolf stepped over the small girl and starting walking toward him._

"_Shin what do you think you're doing?" His co-worker asked as if telling him not to do anything stupid._

"_Grey, get Hiroko out of here."_

_The man now identified as Grey hesitated._

"_Grey!" Shin ordered again, not taking his eyes off of the beast._

_Reluctantly the man complied and went over and picked up the girl, "I'll come back for you!" Was all he said before running back in the direction he had come from._

_Mai covered her eyes with her hands as she heard him reply faintly, "I won't die, Hiroko needs me…"_

_Though instead of hearing the sounds of Shin being mauled, she felt a pair of hands touch her own and let them move her hands away revealing the wet tears running down her face. Mai wrapped her hands around the familiar figure and buried her face into his black shirt, "Naru…" She whined, her voice mumbled. _

_The raven haired boy hugged her back before patting her head, "Mai… look."_

_Lifting her head up, she followed the direction he was looking in. Her surroundings had changed; they now saw Hiroko in one of the rooms in the lodge… She was hooked up to a machine, a breathing tube down her throat. The little girl looked so pale and fragile… it was heart breaking._

_Mai's attention soon went to the voices outside the door._

"_It would be better for her to go to a hospital…" A man, she guessed to be Grey, said._

"_I know…. But when every time they try and take her there, she struggles…" Haru's voice spoke in a tired tone._

"_She's not going to last much longer…."_

"_I know, but she wants to wait for her father."_

"_But her father is dead, Haru!" Grey said angrily._

"_You don't think I know that? Do you think she doesn't know that?"_

"_She may know that but she doesn't want to believe it…"_

"…_. Because she believes it's her fault."_

"_Because it _is_her fault." Grey said bitterly._

"_Grey!"_

_Mai's eyes went back to Hiroko, not wanting to hear more of the conversation. Though her eyes widened when she saw Hiroko's eyes staring at the door, tears slowly forming._

_Their surrounds changed again, this time they were at a funeral. There were two coffins, one large one and one small. A picture of both Hiroko and Shin stood on a stand. Mai's eyes scanned the crowd, no Grey in sight._

_Dream Naru turned to Mai. "Do you understand now?"_

Before Mai could reply, she woke up.

* * *

"How long has she been out?"

"Three hours…"

"Think it's one of those dreams?"

"Who knows…"

Mai groaned, slowly sitting up.

"Mai!" A relieved Monk stated coming to the girl's side.

"Are you alright?" Ayako asked, pushing the man aside as she checked the girl for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine." She managed to say, holding herself to stop from shaking.

Once she had calmed herself down a bit she explained her dream.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm sorry guys! I'm a bit brain dead on this one… so it took a while and it's not one I'm happy about submitting…. I don't like it for some reason…

Anyway, read and review… if you have any ideas I'd be happy to listen to them!


	10. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt4

**I don't own Ghost Hunt; this is my first Ghost Hunt story so bear with me a bit. I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.4**

"It's probably not a good thing for him to be here…" Monk said to Naru as they watched Haru speak with Grey.

Naru nodded agreeing with the man, "Who knows what would happen if Hiroko saw him."

Kurosawa, Grey had quit a few days after the death of Shin and Hiroko, though for the pure reason of his dead friend possibly being a ghost he came back wanting to speak with Haru. Naru and Monk just happen to be nearby when he walked in.

Feeling the need to take charge of the situation, Naru walked up to the two men. "Kurosawa-san." He called to the bleach blond with a firm voice as he walked up to him, Monk following closely behind, "I assure you everything is under control."

"How are you?" The man asked rather rudely.

"Ah—This is the one I was talking about. Shibuya-san here is in charge of the Shibuya Psychic Research center that has taken the case." Haru said, trying to get blondie to calm down.

"Haru… You put a kid in charge of this?"

Monk shrunk back slightly. Was it him or did the aura around Naru get more intense?

"I assure you he's the best of the best."

"Tch. We'll see about that."

* * *

"Mai?"

Once again there was no reply from the brunette huddled in the corner, clinging to an old teddy bear. Ayako sighed and glance toward Lin, they both exchanged looks before turning to see four figures walk into base. It was Naru, Monk, Haru, and… Grey.

"What's going on?" Monk asked seeing the two crouched in front of a still huddled Mai.

"She's been like this since she found that bear… and she won't let us go near it." Ayako explained standing up.

Haru gave a surprised expression, "That bear…"

The two moved out of the way as Naru made his way over to the teenage girl and knelt in front of her. "Mai." He called reaching out to touch her shoulder. The girl flinched and turned toward him showing a frightened expression on her face that caused Naru's hand to stop midway. "Hiroko?" He questioned softly.

The brunette hugged the bear tighter, "Daddy said not to talk to strangers…" Her eyes slowly fell back to the floor.

"Tch. This is ridiculous." Grey mumbled rather loudly, "This is obviously a hoax…"

Mai's eyes darted over to the man and her expression changed into one of terror. "It's not my fault…" She mumbled, tears forming in her eyes.

"What?"

"Get him out of here."

"It's not my fault!" She repeated before sobbing into her stuffed bear.

"If it's not yours then whose is it?" Grey asked coldly as he crossed his arms.

A shock expression fell across the girls face and before anyone knew it she had pushed passed Naru and was making her way to the door in a frantic dash.

"Takigawa!" Naru ordered with just one word.

Monk grabbed Mai in an attempt to restrain her and went to grab the bear. The frightened girl used her last resort and bit the man's hand. Monk yelped and pulled it back as the girl bolted out of the door.

"You let her out you idiot!" Ayako reprimanded.

"She bit me!" He whined.

* * *

"Hiroko!"

"Hiroko!"

It had been over two hours since they had last seen the possessed girl and in that time John and Masako had managed to make their way back from the hospital where they had a doctor look at John's arm… it was broken, but it would heal as long as he took proper care of it.

"Mai could be anywhere. Hiroko knows more about the nooks and crannies of this place than I do…" Haru explained with a sigh as he and Monk walked down one of the halls.

"Don't worry we'll find her."

"Mn. I hope so…" The two stopped as the hallway split in two. "I'll take this way."

"Alright, call me if you find her."

"Will do." The blond said with a nod before turning down one of the hallways.

It had not been more than five minutes before he heard soft sobbing and then spotted a foot sticking out of a little nook in the wall. A sigh of relief left his lips as he knelt down in front of the girl. "Hiroko." He called softly getting her attention.

Looking up, 'Hiroko' blinked. "Haru-nii…?"

Haru smiled and nodded.

She hugged her bear tighter. "It wasn't my fault was it…?" She asked quietly.

Remembering Grey's words, Haru shook his head and took a seat next to the girl inside the nook. "No. Not at all." He told her pulling her into a hug.

There was a few moments of silence until a figure stepped in front of them and cleared his voice.

Releasing Mai out of the hug, Haru looked up at the figure. "Oh… Hi Naru."

* * *

**A/N:** Annnnnd cut . This makes up for not updating for a while, right? Right?

Anyway, I'd love it if you'd R&R 3 and look forward for the next chapter, my loves ;3


	11. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt5

**I don't own Ghost Hunt;; I would love some feedback. 3 Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.5**

Icy blue eyes looked from Haru to Mai. The possessed girl closed her eyes and fright and scooted closer to the dirty blond.

"Fuwa-san."

"Yes?"

"Would you be so kind as to go and tell the others Mai, or rather Hiroko, has been found?"

"Yes, of course." Haru got up to leave, but was stopped when Mai grabbed his pants leg.

"Haru-nii!" She squeaked, as if telling him not to leave her there with the man.

Haru smiled nervously, "It'll be fine Hiroko… This man is, um, really nice. You'll be fine with him here."

Mai took a few seconds to decide something before letting him go. She watched as he disappeared down the hall.

"Hiroko."

The girl slid back, hitting the wall with her spine at the sound of the teen's voice. Squeezing the life out of the stuffed bear. She stayed silent.

Naru examined the girl before kneeling in front of her. "Does that bear have a name?"

The brunette looked at him for a moment before nodding, "H-His… name is Hanii."

"I see… and where did you get Hanii?"

"From Daddy."

"May I see him?" Naru asked holding out his hand.

"No." She stated moving the bear away from him.

The raven haired man exhaled and they were both silent for at least another minute before he spoke again, "I'll make a deal with you… If you let me see Hanii, I'll let you see something of mine."

This caught the girl's attention. She gave him a questionably look.

Pulling out his phone, he messed with it a bit before presenting it to her. There was some kind of game on it. Mai stared at it curiously before taking the device. Playing around with a few of the buttons she giggled at the noises it made.

"May I see him now?"

Looking up from the game, she looked at him and then her bear before nodding and holding it out. "Only for a little bit…."

"Fair enough." Naru stated before slowly taking the stuffed animal out of her hand. As it left the girl's reach her head dipped, and she fell forward. Upon impulse the boy caught her.

* * *

Meanwhile…

_Mai blinked her surroundings had changed. The last thing she could remember was picking up that bear she had found in front of the base door… So where was she now?_

"_Mai…"_

_The brunette whipped around to where the voice was coming from, only to be face to face with a smiling Naru. She relaxed a bit, so it was a dream?_

"_The bear… you have to take the bear."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_Hiroko's soul is still clinging on to the only thing left that her father has given her… and Shin isn't going to move on until he has Hiroko by his side. You've got to take the Hiroko there."_

"_To the cave…?"_

_Dream Naru nodded. "Now wake up."_

_Everything began to fade…_

"Mhm…" Mai began to come to. It had only been a couple of minutes since Hiroko had left Mai's body. Whatever she was laying on it was warm… and felt kinda like a firm pillow.

"How much longer are you going to lay there, Sleeping beauty?"

"Shut up… my head hurts…" She mumbled snuggling into the pillow.

Naru stayed silent for a minute before speaking again, "If you're going to lay down, I'd rather you not use me as your pillow." His voice surprisingly did not seem angry.

Mai shot up at the remark, only to sway a bit and hold her head.

"Careful idiot."

The brunette pouted blushing lightly, "I don't need to hear that from you!" On the inside her stomach was doing backflips. Using Naru as a pillow? So embarrassing… She'd never live this down…

* * *

**A/N:** Short I know, but I wanted to do another chapter and this is what came to my mind ~

Is it to your liking? If so leave a comment! If you don't, I'll cry T.T


	12. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt6

**I don't own Ghost Hunt;; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.6**

Mai sighed from her crossed legged position on the bed. The silence was getting to her and she could feel the anticipation of those watching her from the camera across the room, which didn't help with her nervousness. Sitting there in silence she wondered how she had gotten into this mess.

_A few moments ago…_

"_If they are both looking for either other then we'll just have to bring them together." Naru said simply after the group elaborated on Mai's latest dream._

"_But how will we do that? They're in two separate places?" Monk commented from his place next to Ayako on the couch._

"_Couldn't we bring one to the other…?" John offered._

"_What? You mean like transporting a spirit? Sounds tricky…" Ayako muttered lazily._

"_It is. It's a pretty delicate process." Naru explain shutting his black book, "Moving Shin is out of the question, we won't be able to persuade him… but Hiroko, she has already seemed to take a liking to one of us." _

_At that moment Mai enter the base with a tray full of filled cups, everyone's eyes fell upon the unsuspecting brunette coming back from making tea._

_Mai sweatdropped at the stares, had she done something wrong… again? "W-What?"_

The girl lowered her head in defeat. Ah, that's right… she had been forced into this situation. Her eyes glanced around the room; it was Hiroko's old bedroom. It was a typical girl's bedroom… which was surprising seeing as this was kind of like a hotel in some ways, which just goes to show how much both Shin and Hiroko had been a part of this place. A few things had been packed up, but a lot of her things were still there. Haru couldn't bring himself to finish packing up her things so they've been sitting there like this for a while. Untouched.

An all too familiar voice sounded from the camera in the corner of the room, "Any time you're ready Mai…" It told her impatiently.

The girl twitched angrily. _'Who's fault was it that I'm in this mess! Stupid narcissistic jerk! You come in here and do this then.'_ Couldn't he tell that she was nervous? Even with Lin right outside the door, which don't get her wrong that was very reassuring, she was dealing with a spirit here! There was not telling what could happen!

These thoughts led her to do something she wouldn't have done it a million years, she flipped him off. Yep, innocent Mai stuck her middle finger right in the camera lens. _'Take that!'_

* * *

Meanwhile, in the base:

For once Naru's expression went into that of surprise at the girl's actions. Monk and Yasuhara held back laughter, only to get a glare sent their way.

"Ha! About time, Mai! Way to stick up for yourself." Ayako chuckled whipping a tear from her eye.

John held a disbelieved look and blinked at the screen, had she really done that?

* * *

'Humph'-ing Mai turned back to the task at hand. Pushing up her sleeves the girl took a deep breath clearing her mind of her frustration.

"Hiroko…?" She called quietly. It kind of felt silly talking to someone she couldn't see, or rather someone who may not even be in the room. "Hiroko, do you remember me? It's the lady from before, remember the one you helped me find the kitchen? I'm really grateful. Ah—I'm Mai by the way…"

There was still no answer, or sign of a reply.

Not knowing what else to say she started to improvise, "I… um… I think I know were Shin—I mean—your Daddy is. He's looking for you, you know. You're looking for him too, right?"

Mai's eyes darted to her left when a small figure started to materialize near the dresser. She didn't even have to wait for the body to fully appear before she knew who it was. Shifting, the girl scooted to the edge of the bed. "Hiroko…?"

"You know where my Daddy is Miss?" The small blond girl asked innocently pulling on the hem of her small white sundress, her bear in the other arm.

The brunette nodded, "I could take you there. Just like you helped me… Would you like that?"

The young one tilted her head as if thinking, before she nodded slowly. "Promise?"

Mai smiled and held out her pinky, motioning the girl to do the same. Hiroko hesitated, not knowing whether or not to comply. Feeling that it was safe, she slowly moved closer and held up her own pinky. Connecting their pinkies Mai grinned, "It's a promise."

The blond smiled and started to glow. She began fading into a wisp and entering Mai's body.

The teen blinked. What had just happened? The girl felt odd, not scary odd, but just… odd. She stared at her hands in confusion. She felt… warm and then it hit her. She was kind of acting as a transport for Hiroko… it was like giving someone a piggy back except without the weight.

"Mai…?" Naru's voice said questionably from the camera as if checking to make sure it was her.

Smiling she glanced at the camera and held up the victory sign, "Mission complete!"

* * *

**A/N:** OH MY GOD FINALLY! You wouldn't believe how much trouble this chapter was giving me! I tried writing it like THREE or FOUR F-ING TIMES! The first one I didn't like, the second one mysteriously got deleted, the third one wouldn't let me get into it for some reason… Ah—I guess that makes this my fourth attempt then… Well anyway, besides that I've just been ( /insert generic excuse here). Lol, but seriously school and roleplaying have both been REALLY demanding. So I've taken a break from roleplaying to free my schedule a bit. So I MAY be updating a bit more frequently… depending on how things go. UGH, but anyway! Don't think I've given up on this because I promise you I haven't! Don't forget get to R&R so I know you all still love me!


	13. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt7

**I don't own Ghost Hunt;; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

**a/n**_: _I just realized that on Case 2-5;; Gene/Dream Naru told Mai she had to take the bear to the cave… let's just pretend that he said to take Hiroko to the cave… for all those that read that chapter already… I'll get around to changing it soon. (This is what I get for holding thing off for so long…)

_edit_; I believe I've fixed the problem! Sorta.

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.7**

During the walk down the hiking trail Mai found herself boxed in. Naru was in front of the group leading the way, Lin was to her left and Takigawa was to her right for security reasons of course. Ayako, Masako, John, and Yasuhara were all behind her. For once, everyone was relatively quiet, which made the girl a bit uncomfortable… but not as much as the fact that everyone was keeping an eye on her. She even caught Naru glancing over his shoulder for a brief second. She appreciated that everyone was a bit worried about how well she could handle being a vessel, but boring a hole into her really wasn't necessary!

Feeling Hiroko's uneasiness, the brunette closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's alright." She said softly, earning her a curious glance from Monk and a few of the others.

'_It's so dark… I'm not supposed to be outside at night. Daddy said so. He said that it's dangerous.' _The voice of the small child spoke, echoing through Mai's mind.

"Oh? He did, did he? My mother used to tell me the same thing when I was little… but you want to know something?"

'_What?'_ Hiroko asked her attention completely focused on Mai's words.

"When you're with others that you trust it's not that bad. You see the people near me now?"

'_Uh-huh'_

"Well, they will defiantly protect you. They are really reliable people and they are really good friends of mine. You trust me right?"

'_Yeah.'_

"Good. That means you can trust them too!" Mai grinned cheerfully. She could feel the child relax a bit, meaning she had been successful in calming her down.

The teen felt the rustling of her hair as Monk rubbed her head, obviously pleased and touched by her words. Opening her eyes she looked up at the older man and gave him a light smile. Their small moment interrupted only when Naru abruptly stopped and turned to everyone. Earning him questioning looks from everyone but Lin.

Turning to the four in the back he addressed them, "Matsuzaki-san, Hara-san, and Yasuhara. You are to stay here; it's dangerous for you to go further. Father Brown, you are to stay here as well… considering your condition..."

Ayako didn't look too happy and was going to speak up before John cut in, "Alright Kazuya. I understand." The Aussie nodded, rubbing his arm the rested in its cast.

Lin looked like he wanted to speak up himself, probably to say that Naru, too, should stay behind. Naru glanced at him and the two had a mini stare down—almost like some kind of mind battle—before the Chinese man grunted lightly and looked away. Not pleased.

Naru continued. "Let's get going." The four that were to head forward turned down a thin dirt road that led off the main trail. Mai recognized it as the same one that Hiroko had wandered down and Hiroko, too, seemed to remember it.

Seeing as the group was now cut in half the arrangement in which they were walking had also shifted. Naru could now be found at Mai's left, while Lin and Takigawa had taken the lead ahead of them. The brunette wasn't sure if it was because the two had been to the cave once before and therefore could lead the way much better than Naru, or Lin had discreetly placed himself and Takigawa in front as to emphasize that this was dangerous and that they should be careful.

As they went further and further down the small path, she stared to feel a bit nervous. She wasn't sure if that feeling was her own… or if it was Hiroko's but something told her it was probably a combination of the two.

Clenching her hand and bring it up to her chest, Mai bit her bottom lip. She was not too sure on how this whole thing would go. What if something went wrong? What if Hiroko got hurt? It was only until she felt the young girl mirroring her worries that she stopped herself from thinking in such a pessimistic way. Taking another deep breath she put a light smile back on her face as if to reassure Hiroko that everything would be ok and that she was just being a bit silly.

Mai was surprised when a hand slipped into her own and squeezed it tightly. Looking to the source she was both surprised and delighted to find that it was Naru. Even if said person had his eyes glued straight ahead as if their hands being conjoined together was not happening at the moment. Mai's smile grew and she squeezed his hand back and looked ahead. She felt her uneasiness settle even if it was just a bit.

The four walked in complete silence until they caught sight of the cave. Just the sight of it felt as if it had come out of a scary movie. She of course had seen the place from the safety of the base the night that Monk, Lin, and John had gone to investigate… but it was much more intimidating now that she could see it fully in person. Mai squeezed Naru's hand tighter and swallowed hard, causing the young lad to turn his head slightly in her direction.

Mai opened her mouth to speak, though what came out was something that even she was not expecting. "Let me go in alone."

Everyone stopped and turned to fully face her.

Takigawa staring at her as if she suddenly had three heads. "Mai are you crazy?"

"No, it's just—"

"No." The raven haired boy to her left stated firmly, letting go of her hand and crossing his arms.

"Naru, listen!" The girl stated taking a step back and holding her ground. "Remember that couple that that came here? Remember how the girl wasn't hurt? I just think that it'd be best if I went, that way you guys wouldn't get hurt and—"

"No."

Mai frowned balling her hands into fists at her sides. Why couldn't they just listen for once? They were lucky no one got hurt the last time they went in. She felt as though this was something she should do on her own.

"Let her go." Everyone's eyes were now on Lin, surprised that he was actually taking Mai's side on this one. "She's right… for once."

Sweat dropping at the unnecessary statement at the end, she calmed down a little happy that at least someone was taking in what she was saying. "I'm not saying to leave or anything, you guys could be right outside if anything went wrong but… but I think that Shin would feel a bit defensive if everyone were to go. Also he doesn't seem to have mercy on any males that step onto his territory… you know?"

She snuck a glance at Naru who remained silent. The gears in his mind turning and finally coming to an answer, "…Fine."

"Have you all gone mad?!" Monk commented flinging his hands in the air in a fit.

"Takigawa."

The unhappy man huffed knowing he had been out numbered in the matter. Turning to the girl he jammed a finger in her face, "Listen. The moment I feel as if you're in danger I'm coming in."

Mai nodded knowingly before turned to the other two, "I'm off then."

Taking her first few steps forward toward the eerie mouth of the cave she stopped at the sound of Naru's voice, "Be careful."

Turing back around, she grinned at him and gave them all a thumbs up before quickly heading inside. Not wanting to lose her sudden determination. However, her pace slowed as she entered the large and slightly long space. It felt damp and cold, wrapping her arms around her waist she pressed on. The cave wasn't too deep, so it wasn't too long before she neared its end. Stopping, Mai's hand went to her nose as an unbearable stench fill her nostrils. A heavy aura slowly surrounded her, weight heavily on her small frame. She felt Hiroko freeze inside of her, obviously scared out of her mind. Standing her ground as best she could, the teen called out. "Shin-san?"

Suddenly as if reacting to her words a strong gust of wind blasted from and invisible source, tossing Mai's hair and clothing every which way. Crossing her arms over her face she did her best to shield herself from the force and stop herself from falling over. The girl was sure that the three she had left at the mouth of the cave could feel its pressure as well. Struggling to keep her eyes open she watched as the dark, heavy aura swirled in a cyclone in front of her. A figure slowly forming from the feet up, pale arms rested at the sides of his thin body that was covered in what was left of the uniform that he had worn the day of his death. His short stringy hair plastered to his grimy and mauled face hiding his non-existent eyes. The wind died down as his form became fully materialized.

Both she and the spirit remained silent, tension flowing freely between them and only intensified more so when brown eyes were met with empty sockets. Mai gasped, air catching in her throat. "Shi—"

A large rock flung from a corner of the room and headed straight toward her. Spotting it at the last minute she ducked, letting it smash into pieces on the wall beside her. Breathing shakily Mai looked back up at the spirit. Shin lunged forward. Mai stumbled back. The latter tripped slamming her backside onto the hard and rocky floor. Wincing she let in a sharp breath and clenched her teeth, she eyes slowly opened her vision slowly clearing only for her orbs to widen at the ever so close Shin straddled on top of her, his cold and broken hands pinning her arms above her head. His parted mouth exhaling a horde smell that floated down to her nose.

'_Daddy!'_

Shin froze and Mai hoped with all her heart that he had heard his daughter's voice. This hope became reality when he spoke, "Hiroko…"

'_Daddy, leave the nice lady alone!'_

Releasing the girl's wrists, he sat up his expression soften slightly and gaped as Mai. "Hiroko. You can come out now… It's alright." The teen said softly and she herself sat up, trying her best to ignore the stinging pain from her back and the pounding of her head.

Relaxing, she was soon engulfed in a white light. The warm feeling from before when Hiroko had first entered her body grew and spread to every tip of her. Then slowly the light moved, centering itself to the center of Mai's chest taking that comfortable warm feeling with it. Once the light was but only a small round wisp, it released itself from Mai and floated toward the not-as-menacing Shin.

Outstretching his arms he allowed the wisp to float closer and when it got close enough, Hiroko began to form back into the small and fragile blond child the Mai had encountered so many times. The assistant watched as the two embraced. The contact triggered Shin himself to begin to glow in a bright light and slowly change into a much neater version. His uniform was still tattered but the blood and grim dissolved; his hair began to become light and blew softly in the light draft that went through the cave naturally. His skin regained its color, the scars vanishing as if they had never been there in the first place. His once empty sockets now held light brown eyes that filled itself with tears.

"Hiroko…" The man spoke softly tightening his grip on his beloved child. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too Daddy! I missed you so much!" The blond stated clinging to his clothing as if he could disappear at any moment.

The two spirits looked at each other before turning to a teary eyed Mai who was crying from both the pain of her fall that had now settled in and made her sore and the small daughter-father moment in front of her. The two stood, hand in hand and helped Mai to her feet earning them a thankful groan. Shin rested his hand on her shoulder, "Thank you for being my daughter back to me… I'm sorry for the trouble I caused. I didn't… I was just…"

Mai gave him a soft smile. He seemed to be struggling with his words and for good reason too, it wasn't like he had done something you could just say sorry and leave it at that.

Hiroko was the next to speak, letting go of her father's hand for a moment she gave the teen a tight hug. Mai flinched a bit but hugged the girl back none the less. "Thank you Miss!"

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter will just be a wrap up of the case but this is technically then ending right? xD

Anywho. I liked the way I did this chapter actually… Shin wasn't really one of those SUPER BAD I'M GOING TO KILL YOU ghosts… he was just throwing a temper tantrum. At least that's how I see it. Buuuuut, I really, really. Liked it, so I hope you did to! After all this is a first that I've liked something I've done fully and completely.

Make sure to R&R please. I really love to hear what you have to say!


	14. Case 2  Curiosity Killed the Cat Pt8

**I don't own Ghost Hunt;; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 2 – Curiosity Killed the Cat pt.8**

Outside of the cave Monk was having a panic attack. He was pacing back and forth mumbling about his poor Mai and the different ways the ghost could be silently torturing her by now.

Naru sighed, "Takigawa. Calm down. If she was in trouble we would know by now."

"Ha! Says you." Sure not the best comeback sentence out there, but it was all he could think up.

"Takigawa." Lin said sternly, silencing the monk who gave a 'humph' and leaded against the entrance of the cave, glancing inside.

It had been about seven to ten minutes since they had sent Mai in by herself and as each minute went by Monk had gotten more and more annoying. Couldn't he see that they were all worried about the girl? Even Naru, no matter how calm he tried to make himself look.

And then a gust of wind blasted out of the cave startling the three. It died down quickly, but they knew that it meant that Mai was now confronting Shin. Monk took a step forward preparing to go and see what was happening but stopped abruptly when his shoulder was caught by Lin. "Wait." Was all the Chinese man told him, his eyes staring at the cave in anticipation. Both Naru and Monk did the same. Mai hadn't called for help yet… so they had to assume she was fine for now.

A few minutes when by.

Monk's hand twitched, he couldn't take all of this waiting. They had given Mai enough time, swatting Lin's hand away Takigawa took off into the cave. The two stoic men looked at each other for a slit second and decided to follow him, just in case.

* * *

Mai watched as the last of Shin's and Hiroto's spirit dissolved. A sigh escaped her lips, it was over! Man did she feel tired… however she didn't move from her spot. It wasn't that she couldn't, it was that she didn't want to. She knew that once she moved—even just an inch—her back would erupt with a whole lot of pain. The floor of the cave tore her back up when she slammed into it. Not only that, but her head was throbbing. Which she believed had also hit the floor. Beads of sweat ran down her face and she did her best to stop her vision for blurring.

Knowing she couldn't stay like that forever, she decided to try and move. Counting to three in her head she turned around quickly, figuring that the situation was kind of like a bandage. You had to go fast, or you'd be in much more pain by going slow. She regretted it though, the pain shot up her spin and into her head making her world spin. "Gah!" she spat raising a hand to her head. She felt really unsteady. "Alright Mai, come on you can do this." She encouraged herself taking a deep breath.

Taking a step forward she ignored the second wave of pain and kept going. On the second step she began to fell numb. As came around she swayed catching herself. Mai was panting heavily and her knees buckled, but she did her best to stay standing. She opened her mouth to see if she could try and call to the three she still believed where waiting outside the cave, however she was tired and her mouth was dry. She only managed to let out a heavy huff. Her mind was so fogged up and jumbled that she most didn't notice the three men running down the cave. She almost didn't notice the calls of her name that boomed from their mouths which surely wasn't helping her headache much. She almost didn't notice the relieved look on their faces when they finally caught up to her and she managed to give them a light smile. _They_ almost didn't notice her fall backward unconscious.

* * *

Ayako flicked her nails as she sat on a log on the side of the trail. She was rather annoyed that she hadn't been asked to come, but the stupid Monk was! She could be of help. After all she was kind of like the group's doctor… which was helpful… in a way. Not only that but she knew warding magic!

Masako sneered from behind her sleeve at the Miko. "Could you stop flicking your nails. It makes a rather pestering noise."

The redhead sighed, "Sorry. It's a habit."

"Don't worry guys, they'll be back soon." John soothed from his spot leaning against a tree.

"I hope so." Haru commented a bit on edge and defiantly worried.

"Ah—Haru-kun. Still a worry wart I see."

The group's attention soon turned to the source of the comment. Mixed emotions spread across everyone's face as they spotted the four coming toward them. The three men were perfectly fine, but Mai lay knocked out in Monk's arms.

"Is Mai alright?" John asked as everyone surrounded the returnees.

"Yeah, she's fine." Monk told them adjusting his grip on the girl. "She's cut up pretty bad but Lin said it's nothing life threatening. She just passed out from exhaustion. It was her first time carrying a spirit for more than a few minutes and it wore her out."

"Let's get her back to the lodge. I can patch her up there." Ayako stated looking the girl over.

"I'll get a first aid that you can use." Haru offered, trying to be of some use.

"So what happened with Shin and Hiroko?" Masako asked suspiciously. Seeing as Mai seemed to be the only one injured.

"Mai could tell you what happened better than we could." Naru stated going deciding to start heading down the path first, Lin following shortly after.

"What does that mean…? You guys were there too, right? Why can't you explain it?" Yasuhara asked Monk.

Takigawa sweat dropped at the stares that everyone gave him. _'Thanks a lot you guys, leave me to deal with them and it wasn't even my idea….'_ He thought, glancing at the retreating backs of the two silent men. "Ah—well…" He mumbled the rest of the sentence in unidentified gibberish before striding down the path himself.

"Wait… What did he say?"

"Hou-kun you're avoiding the question!"

"Hey! We're talking to you!"

The rest of the group followed after the poor man demanding an answer. The walk back was defiantly a long one.

* * *

The next few events went by rather fast to Mai. After waking up she found herself all patched up and feeling much better thanks to Ayako, who was not too pleased when Mai explained to everyone that they had allowed her to go in alone. John and Haru just seemed to be pleased with the fact that she was ok, and even though she tried not to show it, Masako looked pretty relieved as well. It was nice to know that the people around her cared for her, it made her happy.

Smiling to herself, Mai went to pick up a box only for it to be snatched out of her arms. She frowned at Monk as he walked away with it a smug look on his face, "Injured people should wait outside until pack up is done." He shouted from over his shoulder.

"I'm not injured that badly!" She whined after him as he vanished around the doorframe. Going to pick up another box, this one was snatched out of her hands as well. This time the culprit was John. She pouted.

"Sorry mate. Only following orders." He told her before heading out as well.

"Humph, but you're injured too!" Looking around she made sure no one was there before grabbing another box. She took one step before she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

Turning slightly she saw Naru leaning on the doorframe. "What do you think you're doing?"

"…Helping…?" She said in an unsure manner.

"You're not supposed to—"

"Awww, but Naru! I want to help! Isn't it good I'm doing my job?"

He was silent for a moment and scanned her over before pushing himself off the frame and walking over to her. She stepped back a bit putting a tighter grip on the box, for some reason she was determined to carry this one.

"Give it to me." Naru ordered and held out his hands.

"No."

"_Now_, Mai."

"No."

"Fine. Have it your way."

Mai gave him a questionable look. Just what was he planning to do? The answer was found out almost immediately when the young man swept her off her feet. Bridal-style.

"N-Naru put me d-down!" Her face turned a light shade of pink.

"If you don't get a good grip on it you'll drop it." He told her referring to the box and ignoring her request.

Readjusting her grip on the object she puffed out her cheeks and stayed stubbornly silent as an embarrassed blush creeped on her face with each step he took.

When Naru entered the lobby he was greeted by a surprised Ayako and Yasuhara.

"Naru…? What are you doing….?" The Miko asked not sure what to make of the situation.

Blue eyes glanced in her direction, "I'm packing the things away. What does it look like?" He answered as if the answer was obvious and that the question was stupid. Mai guess that 'the things' also meant her.

"No, I meant—"

"It's best to just leave things be." Yasuhara said amusedly patting the woman on the shoulder. Naru had already started headed toward the entrance anyway and probably wouldn't have answered her question.

* * *

**A/N:** Case closed. Hehehe, pulled an all-nighter for this. I wanted to get it done before my birthday ended… but I suppose the morning after isn't so bad either. Anyway, this is probably long overdue but here it is ~ Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think! Imma try and get some sleep… til' next time!


	15. Case 3  Blood Tears Pt1

**I don't own Ghost Hunt;; I would love some feedback. Takes place after the Anime.**

* * *

**Case 3 – Blood Tears pt.1**

_Mai found herself in the middle of a crowd on a busy sidewalk, the masses of people passed by her slowly almost as if someone had slowed down time. Everything about the place seemed surreal. The brunette could not make out the faces of the people passing and they all seemed to be going in one direction. They walked, parting around her before rejoining back into the massive group, almost as if she were a rock in the river and they were the current. The only building around was completely grey, including the windows that were impossible to see through; it matched the people, who too, looked dull and grey. The sidewalk itself ran the length of the building before fading off into nothing. Seriously. Nothing. There was no sky, no street; only the building, the sidewalk and the people. Everything else was just white space. The people themselves fade away into nothing as soon as they reached the end of the sidewalk and ripple into existence at the sidewalk's beginning._

_The silence was almost unbearable. It was like someone had pressed the mute button on their remote. However it also made it easy to hear the sudden explosion that came from a room at the top floor of the building and as if on cue the people blew away into dust. Glass from a now broken window shattered and hit the pavement. Almost instantly afterward Mai's surroundings started to gain color and sound. Time began to speed up._

_The once dull building was now a dusty brick color and the broken window now had fire and smoke spewing out of it. A fire truck and firemen faded into view. Three of them stayed outside spraying water into the window trying to fight the fire that now threatened to consume the entire top floor. Two other firemen rushed in for survivors. The young teen glanced around as other things started coming into view. An ambulance. A crowd behind police tape. The actual police. _

_There was a whole bunch of rushing and a whole lot of commotion. It was hard to make out what anyone was saying. Though, Mai did get a chance to hear a conversation between two male cops with solemn faces._

"_He struck again, huh?"_

"_Yeah… Though this one didn't go without a fight. She took him with her."_

"_Amazing… That girl's a hero. Thanks to her the Blood Angel is gone for good."_

_'__Blood Angel…?' Mai questioned in thought, before her attention soon went to the body bags being wheeled out of the building._

_One of them had not been zipped up properly and she saw a sight that unnerved her. A woman's face stuck out of the bag, despite the badly burned portions of her face she was quite the looker. The disturbing thing about her was the calm and peaceful expression that rested on her face… well that and it looked like she was crying. But it wasn't water._

_It was blood._

_Mai stared bewildered at the woman until someone properly zippered up the bag and rolled it away. Blinking she looked back to the door a puzzled expression on her face. This was probably one of __**those**__ dreams again… but it could have been just her imagination acting up, it was really hard to tell._

_While still in thought, her brown orbs caught hold of a boy with dark brown hair and golden eyes—kind of like a cat's—walking out of the building rather casually. He wasn't covered in soot or anything, in fact he looked rather clean for having walked out of a burning building and he didn't really seem like he belonged there. He looked as if he was about her age, if not a bit older and he had a bit of a lazy air to him. Which was weird since everyone else was either panicking or worrying. She tensed a bit when the boy looked directly at her. She looked behind herself, but there was no one there. Now she was really confused. There was no way he could see her right? After all no one ever saw her before in one of these dreams, not including Dream Naru of course._

_That was what she wanted to believe though… but he was looking right at her. When he looked away she closed her eyes and let out a sigh, so he didn't see her._

"_Hey—"_

"_Kyaa!" Mai jumped back in utter shock at the sudden closeness of the voice, the brown haired boy from before stared at her blankly. She composed herself, "You… can see me?" she asked pointing to herself._

_Before he got a chance to answer, she woke up._

* * *

**A/N:**And this begins the next case of awesomeness. Sound good so far? This is a bit short, but only because I just wanted to have the dream in this chapter to open of the case and stuff… but yeah, so anyways I wanna thank you awesome people for giving me such nice reviews, they make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. They actually get me really pumped and get me really wanting to keep writing so keep them coming! xD


	16. Case 3  Blood Tears Pt2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt**

* * *

**Case 3 – Blood Tears pt.2**

Mai stared at the kettle as it heated up, her mind replaying her dream from the night before. A look of utter confusion still spread across her face. She couldn't stop thinking about it. It made no sense, how had the guy seen her? Just who was he? Question after question piled into her brain, all going unanswered.

She frowned.

Thinking about it probably wouldn't help much, especially with that whistling sound ringing in her ears…. She blinked, _'Wait. Whistling?'_

"Taniyama-san." A familiar stern voice called to her interrupting her train of thought.

Slightly startled, she whipped around to face the doorway where a slightly curious Lin stood. "Y – yes?" She asked a bit surprised to see the man out of his office. He and Naru practically lived in their offices, so to see Lin out for longer than a moment or two and more specifically in the kitchenette was rare.

He raised an eyebrow, but none the less, pointed a long slender finger in the direction of the stove.

Mai frowned, obviously a bit perplexed. Guiding her eyes in the direction of what Lin's finger was pointing to her mouth dropped open. Apparently she must have been in thought longer than she realized she had because the kettle was whistling violently and the water was starting to boiling over.

"Eeek! Naru's tea!" She cried as if it was the most important thing in the world—and it was—and quickly reached out to move the overly hot object off of its heat source.

"Taniyama-san, wait—"

"Owww!" She hissed retracting her hand away from kettle spurting out scolding water.

The stoic Chinese man sighed, setting his files down on the counter furthest from the tea disaster. Striding over to the stove he quickly turned off the aisle and skillfully removed the kettle on a cooler surface. When that was taken care of he gently took Mai's wrist and guided her over to the sink, where he began running her hand under cool water.

Mai's hand flinched under the touch of both the water and Lin's grasp, but relaxed as the burning of her hand began to num. Brown eyes glanced up at her coworker as she managed to smile and squeeze out a light and sincere, "Thank you."

"…" Lin glanced at the young girl for a moment before letting his eyes drift back to her injured hand. "You're welcome…" He replied lightly.

They stood in silence for a bit, the running of water being the only noise to fill the room. Mai's mind began to mull over her musings from earlier. It wasn't really something that she couldn't just stop thinking about, after all there was a chance it'd happen again… right?

"Hey… Lin. Can I ask you a question?" she asked, hoping to clear her mind a bit.

Her question was answered with a, "Hm?"

"You know that dream-thing I do right?"

He glanced at her, "You mean your clairvoyance?"

"Yeah. That. Well… is it possible to… say….. I don't know. See someone in one of those dreams that doesn't really look like they should be there and they can actually _see_ you." She tried her best to word it as clearly as she could, but she knew she was being a bit confusing.

"Like a spirit guide?"

"Ah…. No." '_That would probably be a more accurate title for Dream Naru.'_ She thought. "Like a person who doesn't really seem like a spirit per-say… I guess… I don't know how to explain it."

Lin turned off the water and handed her a paper towel to dry her hand. Leaning against the counter he crossed his arms in thought. "It could be… another psychic perhaps? Psychics meeting each other in these… 'dreams' as you call them, is not unheard of I believe, though it doesn't happen often." He pushed himself off the counter and began gathering his files before turning to her. "You wouldn't be perhaps speaking from a current experience?"

Mai twiddled her fingers, "Ah—well, I don't know. I don't think so…" She sweat dropped under the unconvinced gaze he gave her. "I was just curious."

Another sigh left his lips when it was obvious she wouldn't say any more than that. "Very well then." He pointed to her now red and slightly puffy hand, "That's not too bad—this time, but do be careful."

She nodded and with that he left. Glancing at the watery mess on the stove she let out a light sigh of her own—she was sure to get a lecture of some sort from Naru.

* * *

"Did you get lost on your way to the kitchen, Mai?" An unamused Naru asked as the door to his office creaked open.

Mai pouted slightly, "No. I just got held up a bit is all… but no worries, your tea is right here." She told him mustering up a cheerful voice and setting the tea cup down in the usual spot on his desk.

She was about to turn to get back to work when Naru's voice stopped her, "Your hand."

"Hm?"

"It's red… what happened to it?"

"Ah—oh. I had a battle with the tea kettle and lost. It's ok though; Lin was there and helped me out before it could blister."

"Let me see."

"It's fine. It doesn't even hurt that much." Despite her words she stepped closer to his desk and held out her hand to give him a good look.

Grabbing her hand carefully he looked it over; Mai's cheeks turned a bit pink from the sudden contact. Naru purposely gave the tender spot a squeeze and she hissed. "Fine, huh?" A sly smirk formed on his features.

"Jerk!" she snatched her hand out of his grip and twirled around stomping for the door, her face a red tint.

A light, "Be more careful next time," was heard from behind her causing her to flush a deeper red, before lightly slamming the door behind her in a mixture of frustration and slight surprise at the kind words.

As soon as she left the bat cave Naru called an office, she was greeted by a familiar female stepping though the front door. "Masako?" Mai called to the newly arrived guest who in turn nodded in her direction.

"Is Naru in?" she asked. Her voice was more business and less snotty like it usually was.

Mai tilted her head, "Yeah. Is something up?"

"I am in need of his assistance. Well, rather an acquaintance of mine is."

"Oh, you mean like a case."

She sighed. "Yes, Mai. A case. Would you be so kind as to get him for me?" Masako asked taking a seat on the couch.

"Ah—right. Sure, no problem." She scurried over to gather the silence gentlemen from their dwellings.

* * *

Once Naru and Lin were fetched, Masako didn't hesitate to start explaining her acquaintance's dilemma. She seemed a bit more reserved that she usually was around Naru, probably due to the fact she—at the moment—was technically representing the person who sent her. She was all business and no play today. "The woman's name is Sogen, Hinata. She's a friend of my mother's and a well-known artist in her area. Her problems started three months ago when she bought her new home/studio—an old small two story apartment building remodeled after an explosion on the second floor damaged it. The first week everything was fine, however, after that things grew strange. In her second week in the building there were times when there was a strong smell of gas however when she checked nothing was leaking. At one point she had a professional check and they could not find anything either.

"After a month of living there the stove started to turn itself on. It's a gas stove and it doesn't light itself so the gas from the stove fills the building if it goes unnoticed. Once, her nephew Tenshi—who lives with her at the moment—fainted from Carbon Monoxide exposure when left alone in the house for a good portion of the day. Hinata-san has explained that Tenshi claimed to have not touched the oven at all that day.

"After two months the worst of it started with a painting of a client that she was working on burst into flames as soon as she had completed it. Things within the building have suddenly become projectiles and hurl themselves when their target least expects it. Furniture has often been broken and dismantled. Hinata-san has expressed how it is hard to go to sleep at night sometimes because the loud wailing of a young woman rings in her ears." Masako glanced up at Naru, "Under her request I visited the house. I sense a spirit of a female. She seems to have something to say, but for some reason she cannot say it. Or rather it is like she is having trouble finding who she wants to say it to. I could not reach her, but I suspect that she is most likely the cause of the problem… or at least part of it. There is something else in the building—a spirit maybe. It seems dormant… as if waiting for something. It's dark, but seems to believe its intentions are good. It's… rather hard to explain. When I told Hinata-san that I may know of a few people that could help she pleaded with me to see if you'd be willing to help her… Will you?"

The room when silent as all eyes rested on Naru. Closing his eyes, the young man nodded, "We'll take the case."

* * *

**A/N:** Annnnd with that the stage is set. Like? Love? Want some more of it? Review! Hahaha, kidding. But seriously, review. I want to know what you all think of this lovely tale so far after all.

As for my late updating. I apologize. It will probably happen again, so I apologize for that too. HOWEVER! I do have a slight excuse for why it wasn't sooner. It would have probably been a bit of a wait, but it could have been sooner if it had not been for my sudden move. Yep! That's right I moved. SO, that means new school and all that jazz. For the last few days I've been running around helping my mama register us all for school and stuff. I start school on Tuesday and I'm ubber nervous, but a bit excited. I'm a Junior now, so woot!

Other than that, I've been lazy or roleplaying or sleeping or neglecting my fanfiction writer duties or writing other fanfics/original stories… the list goes on. Life is life. Summer reading sucks monkey balls. I'm a crazy rambling fool. I plan on going back through previous chapters and fixing spelling mistakes and such, don't know when… but I'm planning to! Honestly I'm the kinda person who likes to skip around and do many different projects at once, therefore I'll do my best to update this story when the idea strikes me. I'm kind working on this as I go along so it's not really like I have everything planned out yet. I'm curious to see the ending as much as you all are. I will say that I do have a little tiny bit of an idea of how this story will end. So I'm not completely in the dark, therefore don't worry!

…If you're still reading this I commend you.

Love ya all, don't forget to review! It'll make me happy and I'll make you an honorary member of LOVE MUFFIN. Ahem: All those who watch P&F on Disney should know that one.

…So yeah, Imma go get some food and stop this rambling so I don't have to continue boring you to death with my nonsense. PEACE!


	17. Case 3 Blood Tears Pt3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.**

* * *

**Case 3 – Blood Tears pt.3**

Mai set the camera gingerly down in the corner of the studio and adjusted it just enough to get most of the room in the lens' view. "It won't be in the way here will it?" She asked, speaking to the woman sketching on a canvas on the adjacent side of the room.

"Nope. It's perfectly fine right there." Was the reply, busy eyes not bothering to look away from the easel.

Mai turned slightly to sneak a peek at the client. She was the Sogen, Hinata that Masako mentioned to them before. Had it not been confirmed, seeing her as Sogen-san would not have been her first guess. She was apparently the friend of Masako's mother—who of which was from a wealthy background—so she had expected Hinata to been more… uppity for lack of a better word. Not that either Hinata or Masako's mom had to be uppity… but just look at how snotty Masako could be sometimes, she had to have gotten it from somewhere right? The best guess would be from her mother and usually people hang out with people who are like themselves and so that was way she thought Hinata would have been.

However, she was greatly mistaken. Not only was Sogen-san nice and friendly, she didn't give off the appearance of someone who was friends with the rich. Her slightly past shoulder length dark brown hair was tied back in a sloppy bun with stray hairs sticking out at every angle and she wore paint stained overalls that looked like they had seen better days, but even though she gave off such a messy appearance she was very pretty and had a motherly voice. Basically, she was not what Mai had expected but she wasn't disappointed either.

She was actually a bit curious to see what Hinata's nephew, Tenshi, would be like. He was absent from the premises for the moment—something about him liking to take long walks—and no one had gotten the change to meet him yet. He was supposed to be somewhere around Naru and John's ages. What was even more interesting is that he used to play with Masako when they were smaller. After Sogen-san mentioned that, Mai's interest in meeting him upped. She wanted to know what the medium was like as a kid.

Making a few little adjustments with the camera, the teen stepped back and took a look at her handy work. A pleased grin formed on her face.

"Have you ever caught anything on tape before?" Hinata questioned curiously, he bright green eyes peering over at the camera.

Mai turned to look at her and slid her thumbs though her jean's belt loops, "Yep. Lots of things. Sometimes audio too." She shrugged and scrunched her nose, "It's kind of cool and frightening at the same time."

"Sounds like an interesting job." She commented rocking on her heal, her face turning fully onto the young girl before her.

"It can be." The brunette nodded and bit her lip as a thought dawned on her. "I… should probably get back to base before my boss had a cow…."

Hinata chuckled, "Well I wouldn't want you getting in trouble on my account. Remember the way?"

Mai nodded a second time and headed out the room, "Of course." She gave the woman one last smile before closing the door behind her and heading down the stairs to Hinata's actual home.

The building was split into two floors. The first floor was the living space, it split into three halls: a main hallway that you entered from the front door and held the kitchen, a coat closet, the staircase to the second floor, and a power room. Then two halls branched off of the main, one on the right and the other on the left. The second floor was Hinata's studio, she had many paintings and easels covering the place. It was where her clients came to pick up their orders via the second staircase on the side of the building. Mai was currently using the staircase on the inside of the house, which was usually only used by Hinata and her nephew Tenshi.

Turning down the left hallway, she headed toward the base, her eyes falling on the pieces of artwork that was one of the few items decorating the building. Because of the hauntings, the woman didn't really want to put too much up, in fear of it getting taken apart. Most of the rooms still held unpacked boxes while others had a few pieces of furniture here and there, but weren't complete.

Stepping into base, Mai was greeted by a busy Bou-san and Ayako shifting through newspaper articles. Giving them a light wave, she glanced curiously around the room. Lin was working on wiring up the last of the equipment while Naru sat with his notebook—she doubted the two even noticed her arrival. The teen frowned noticing they were a few members short, "Masako didn't get in yet?"

It was Naru who answered, "She just finished up with an interview, she'll be here soon."

"Oh." She took a seat at the table the monk and miko were occupying. "What about John?"

"Something came up. He won't be here until tomorrow." The raven haired boy explained shutting his book before turning to help Lin with something.

Looking at the papers on the table Mai tilted her head, "What's all this?"

Ayako was the one who answered this time, "Sogen-san's nephew and herself collected article clippings about this area's past. She thought they could help, so Naru's having us go through them."

"Ah." Deciding to help out before Naru caught her not doing anything, she shifted through a few of the old papers. Something interesting eventually catching her eye:

_**BLOOD ANGEL STRIKES AGAIN**_

_A mom who'd recently lost her child was found dead Monday morning in her home, her eyes gouged out and crying tears of blood. Police are not sure that cause of death, but suspect lethal injection…_

The article went on to describe how one could contact the police if they had any information on the killer.

A hand flew to Mai's mouth and she looked through more of the papers, a few having to do with the same killer. "Blood Angel…" she whispered lowly, biting her nail. That was the same name that came up her dream the other night. Wanting more information Mai turned to the older man next to her, "Bou-san. Who exactly is the Blood Angel?"

Ayako frowned at the mention and Monk scratched the back of his head, "Not sure. We don't know too much about him yet… but apparently he was a serial killer a few years back who felt god had given him direct orders to 'relieve' people of their unbearable pain. His signature was taking his victims eyes and leaving bloodly tear-like stains on their faces. He killed them as humanely as possible—with some kind of injection."

"Naru's looking into the rest." The Miko added from her spot across the table.

* * *

Mai huffed, head resting in her arms as she glanced boredly at the other side of the room.

Once again everyone else was off doing something else while she was left to sit and hold down the fort. Sometimes only being able to help when she had a dream sucked, if she was smart and resourceful like Yasuhara or Madoka she could at least go digging for background information, or If she had the power to use mantras correctly she could sweep the house like Bou-san and Ayako, or even if she had… well whatever Naru and Lin had… she could do whatever it was they did when they off and disappeared somewhere but _no_ her job was making tea, watching base, and having dreams that made her want to pee her pants sometimes. Not that she was complaining.

Standing up, the brunette moved over to the monitors and checked everyone's whereabouts. Ayako and Bou-san were still scanning the right hallways, Hinata-san was still in her studio, and Lin and Naru weren't anywhere on camera—which either meant they were out in the van or just plain avoiding the cameras. Whatever the case Mai didn't care much. She wasn't sure what they did when they went off on their own, but whatever they did it worked and so she didn't see a problem with it. Though she would be lying if she said she wasn't curious.

After a moment of staring at the quiet screens, the girl felt herself nod off. Not wanting to fall over, and feeling too tired to go back over to the table, she took a seat in Naru's chair by the monitors and slowly dozed off.

_When Mai opened her eyes she found herself in a semi-crowded bar. Sitting in a stool, she overlooked half drunken men pour over their drinks and talk about their troubles while the more happy drunks hit on the more attractive females on the scene. The girl's eyes soon fell on a woman sitting solemnly a few seats away, brown eyes staring into an untouched cup of sake._

_The teen's eyes widened a fraction when she realized the woman looked familiar—she was the one wheeled out on a stretcher in previous dream. Her eyes were still intact and her black hair was cut into a neat bob instead of a tangled mess, but Mai could tell it was the same person. Leaning forward on her hands, she watched the woman for a few moments. Mai knew that her dreams usually held some kind of significance, so she figured she needed to pay attention as best she could so she wouldn't miss anything._

_A few minutes passed with nothing interesting happening before Mai started to get bored. The assistant was tempted to move her attention elsewhere when from the corner of her eye she saw an older man with greying hair get up from his spot alone at a booth and sit beside the woman and began to chat with her. Leaning a little closer, Mai listened to the conversation._

_The man smiled, "I couldn't help but notice… but you look a little down over here. Want to talk about it?"_

_The woman didn't look up from her cup, an unfriendly air surrounding her. "I don't talk to strangers."_

_He let out a deep chuckle and took a sip of his own drink, "Smart girl…" He swirled the liquid in his glass, "But you know… it's never good to keep things bottled up." The man leaned back a bit, "Think of it this way, I'm just some guy from some bar… If you have something to get off your chest it won't do anything else but make you feel better, I'm so drunk right now I'll probably forget it all in the morning."_

_She raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, "You don't look drunk." He didn't._

_The man just smiled._

_Sighing the female glanced back down at her cup, "Have you ever hurt someone so badly without meaning to but can't do anything to fix it?"_

_He shrugged, "I suppose so… Everyone has."_

_Her fingers tightened around her glass, "Well I have… My best friend miss carried her baby while arguing with me." The trembling in her voice tugged at Mai's heart strings she had never experienced something like that, but she could feel the pain in the woman's voice._

_The man placed a comforting hand on her arm, "Don't worry child. God knows the difference between on accident and on purpose."_

"_Him again…"A voice commented thoughtfully not too far off from her current position._

_Eyebrows furrowing at the familiarity of the voice, Mai turned around and was surprised to find the familiar cat-eyed boy that had puzzled her thoughts for most of the day, his eyes fixated on the man talking with the female she had been watching._

_Curiosity getting the best of her she called to him to see if he really could see her, "Hey."_

_He turned to her, his eyes widening in realization. "You… from before…" He shifted in his seat, truly surprised. "You really could see me, yeah?"_

_She just stared at him a moment, "I should be the one saying that."_

_They both stood up at the same time and he stepped closer, "Weird… this has never happened before…"_

"_Diddo." She mumbled awkwardly and hugged herself._

_He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it almost immediately. His eyes turned to stare at seemingly nothing. After a few moments of silence he tisked, "Damn. I have to go."_

_Mai held out a hand in slight panic, "Wait. I don't even know who you are."_

_He smiled, "I'm sure we'll see each other again." Giving her a salute he faded and soon her surroundings did as well._

Mai reluctantly opened her eyes to find herself back in the base. Stretching, the teen leaned back in the chair and looked around. As far as should could see no one had come back yet. Checking the time she pouted, she'd been asleep for over an hour usually at least Monk and Ayako were done with their task by now. Glancing at the monitors, she decided to see what everyone was up to.

The Monk and Miko were in the kitchen with five other people, to Bou-san's right was Naru and Lin who seemed to have just walked in, next to Ayako stood Hinata leaning against the counter with a mug in her hands, and front of them all stood Masako—when had she arrived?—and another figure.

It only took a moment figure out who it was and upon this realization the teen ran out of the room in anxiousness.

* * *

**A/N:** Ah… yeah. No excuses. None would be good enough for you all, I know. But don't worry, I haven't given up on this lovely story and I'll make sure never to do so. I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint~

Don't forget to read and review my lovelies. They keep me going! :3


	18. Case 3 Blood Tears Pt4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt.**

* * *

**Case 3 – Blood Tears pt.4**

Mai found herself nearly tripping over an inconveniently placed box on her way to the kitchen. Not long after that she realized she had gone the wrong way and straight to a dead end.

"Geeze Mai…" she reprimanded herself, stopping to catch her breath.

It was strange though. She could have sworn that she turned down the right way. It wasn't like the layout of the house was that complicated. Not like Haru's Inn and certainly not like the former Prime Minister's labyrinth.

Taking one last deep breath, she turned around to go back the way she came, glad that no one saw her make such a silly mistake.

As she moved to leave, Mai had not taken even one step before one of the doors creaked open. The sound was eerie and sent a shiver up her spine. Her breathing slowed, catching in her throat as she turned looking toward the source of her uneasiness.

Whatever logic she had in her told her it had probably been a draft, but she ruled it out when she recalled that the door had been completely shut just moments before.

So, if that was the case then what had opened it? Should she try and find out?

Something screamed in her not to, but Mai couldn't help but take a step forward to get a better view inside of the room.

For some reason, it was darker than the rest of the house and as she stepped even closer she could see that it wasn't just darker, it was pitch black. Even the light from the hallway seemed to get swallowed up by the shadows.

The brunette gulped, feeling the hair on her arms stand on end. Everything just seemed too quiet. Almost as if she walked in on a conversation someone didn't want her to hear. She could feel—or at least it felt like—someone was watching her, waiting for her to make a move.

Hesitantly, she lifted a hand up, and went to reach into the darkness.

"Mai."

"GAAAAAAAAAH!" the girl shrieked, nearly jumping out of her skin at the mention of her name. Clumsily, she spun around, wide brown eyes meeting with piercing blue ones.

"I thought I told you to watch the base," was the calm reply.

Mai gave a relieved sigh, a hand going to her chest in a poor attempt to calm her beating heart, "Kami, Naru you scared me!"

Giving her a look of indifference, he turned on his heel and began heading back down the hall, obviously expecting her to follow.

"What were you doing?" he asked as she ran to catch up with him.

"Nothing really… I didn't mean to come down this way…" she frowned, looking over her shoulder to glance at the open door, "…Naru, does that room seem weird to you?"

"Why?" he asked, though he didn't bother to look at her.

She shrugged, turning her attention away from the room. "I don't know. I just seems weird, but it's probably nothing…"

Naru aimed a calculating gaze on her before closing his eyes. "In any case, I'd prefer it if you follow your orders from now on. I do not need to waste my time looking for you because you decided to go out on an adventure."

Mai discreetly rolled her eyes, muttering a "Yes, _sir_."

She didn't really see what the big deal was, besides she'd kept watch over the base for at least an hour and a half—granted she was asleep for some of that time. The only reason she had left the base was because—Oh. Oh wait.

"Naru!" she exclaimed in realization, reaching for her boss' arm, "That person in the kitchen—"

"Jou-chan! There you are," Bou-san's voice cut in as the two entered the main hall.

The group from the kitchen was beginning to file out, Monk and Ayako being one of the firsts. Though, the brunette's attention wasn't on them, but the young teen currently engaging himself in a conversation with Hinata.

The grip she had on Naru's arm tightened and she gaped at the figure, a finger pointing in his direction, "It's you!" With his dark brown hair and golden eyes he was no doubt the man from her recent 'dreams'.

The outburst, caught everyone's attention and they turned to give Mai a quizzical share, except the cat-eyed male who looked at her in both surprised and amusement. His lips curved ever slightly upward, "When I said we'd probably see each other again… I didn't think it would be so soon."

"You two know each other, Mai?" Ayako questioned, stepping into the conversation to voice everyone's thoughts.

"Uh, well…" Mai stammered awkwardly, not sure how to explain. The words 'we met in a dream' seemed too strange to say.

"You can say that," the teen answered for her, offering a guarded smile that Mai didn't understand. "We sort of bumped into each other a few times."

"Aha. Yeah, something like that," she confirmed, getting the feeling he didn't want her to go into detail.

Hinata seemed to accepted the explanation, but the others—especially Monk, Ayako, and, more surprisingly, Lin—weren't satisfied. Mai could feel their stares.

Naru, who didn't seem to care much about the situation, broke the conversation short before they began to ask for specifics. "Sougen-san, if you would please excuse us, we must get back to work," he explained with the slight incline of his head.

"Oh, alright. That's fine, I'll just be up stairs if you need me." Hinata smiled, catching on that he was dismissing her, "Tenshi-kun, why don't you come with me? I think I need a second opinion."

"Of course," the young man—now identified as Hinata's nephew—nodded and shot a smile at Mai before bowing to the group and following his aunt up the steps.

When they were gone Naru didn't hesitate to give everyone their orders, "Matsuzaki-san, I want you to take Hara-san and sweep the house one more time, she if she can sense anything else since the last time she'd been here."

Ayako seemed as if she wanted to object, but merely scrunched her nose and left, a silent Masako in tow.

"Takigawa, take a look at the room on the far left and take a flashlight. Mai was feeling uneasy about it."

"No problem," Bou-san complied, patting Mai's head as he passed her.

For Lin, all Naru had to do was make eye contact and the Chinese man began heading down the hall back to base.

It was strange how they did that.

"And Mai." Naru continued, turning his attention to the only person left in the hall. "Are you unable to properly support yourself without an aid?"

"What?" she questioned, following his gaze to where she still tightly gripped his arm. The assistant flushed a light pink. "Sorry."

* * *

Rubbing her eyes Mai let out a yawn and leaned back in her seat, as she tossed the articles in her hand on to the table in front of her. The task she'd been given was to go over them a second time as, apparently, Naru thought it was necessary to double check their work. She wasn't too bothered by the responsibility though, it gave her the chance to look at the other articles on the Blood Angel.

There were quite a few on him, like for instance all of his victims had something to so with 'mercy killings'. From the things written about the murders she found out that he seemed to sincerely think he was doing these people some good.

"_I am an angel sent from god, covered in the bloody tears of your innocent sufferers…"_

An article quoted from note he'd left near the body of one of his first victims.

Mai found it disturbing that someone would be so diluted. She couldn't wrap her head around the fact that this man hurt so many people because he thought it was his divine right. It was sick.

"Mai," Naru's voice called, pulling her from her thoughts.

"Yes?" she answered in a daze, sitting down for so long had made her drowsy.

"Tea."

Throwing her head back she let out an over dramatic sigh before standing up. "Yeah, ok," she mumbled, not feeling the will to complain about the lack of the word 'please'. Lifting her arms over her head she stretched her stiff muscles. Tea actually sounded pretty good at the moment. Maybe she'd make some for Lin and herself too.

With that thought it mind, Mai tiptoed out of the room—as not to disturb the working men—and slipped into the hall. It felt good to be on her feet again. She was never one that could hold still for long periods of time anyway.

Heading toward the kitchen, Mai absently observed the various paintings covering the walls. She hadn't noticed it before, but most of them were Hinata's own. Of course it made sense, as she was a painter and all, but it just surprised her at how good they were. She didn't have much of a chance to look through the paintings in Hinata's studio upstairs, from the ones she'd viewed so far, it was easy to see why her art was in such high demand. They were amazing.

Letting another yawn pass her lips, the assistant headed into the kitchen and straight to the cabinet that held the tea kettle.

"You guys sure drink a lot of tea," a voice observed from behind her.

Mai jumped. What was with everyone sneaking up on her today?

She turned to find Tenshi sitting at the kitchen table, his nose in a book, and exhaled, offering him a smile as she moved to fill the kettle with water, "Only Naru—ah… I mean, only my boss," paused and, thinking it polite, then asked, "Would you like some?"

He looked up from his book and shook his head, gesturing to the mug beside him, "No thank you. I'm more of a coffee person myself."

"I don't mind either of them," Mai commented and set the kettle down on the stove to boil, "though, my favorite hot beverage is actually hot chocolate."

He seemed amused by this, "with marshmallows?"

"Of course," she smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes as she thought of the past, "I used to drink it as much as I could when I was a kid, even in warm weather. My mother had a real knack for making it from scratch when she had the time."

"That sounds nice," Tenshi admitted, and with a dry laugh added, "My mother was never much of a cook herself… I'm sure she could've burned water."

Mai grinned, chuckling, "I'm not very good with cooking either. I mean, frozen foods and drinks I can do… but when it comes to baking and cooking things from scratch it's another story. Especially baking since you're supposed to be precise about measuring and stuff."

There was a long pause then, neither really knowing what to talk about.

The brunette wanted to ask some questions about their dream experience… but there was a camera in the room and he didn't seem like he wanted the others to know. She didn't really get why, but she was a person who respected the wishes of others… most of the time.

It was the sound of the kettle's whistle that broke their awkward silence and caught both teens' attentions. Mai backed up from the stove the instant she saw the kettle's uncontrolled shaking. It was different from the times she'd let the water boil over, the lid flapped violently and water sprayed at odd angles from the spout.

"Get away from there!" Tenshi ordered, suddenly up from his seat.

Rushing over, he switched the stove off, hissing as some of the water splashed onto his hand in the process. The action didn't do much good though, because the water kept boiling and the kettle continued hissing.

Before either of them knew it, the whole aisle burst into flames.

* * *

**A/N:** I know, I know… long time no see, right? Don't worry, I haven't given up on this. I've just been distracted. But I'm terrible for not updating for so long, I know.

So, to make it up to you I am going to do something I've seen a few other fanfiction writers do.

I will let you ask questions to whatever character you want that has been mentioned in the story so far (from any of the cases) and I will answer them as that character in the author notes at the end of the next chapter. Unless, of course, they spoil something.

Sound good? I think it'll be fun, ne?


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